Estonia’s Defense Minister Refutes Plans to Send Troops to Ukraine

Estonia’s Defense Minister, Hanno Pevkur, refuted claims that Western nations, including Estonia, are planning to send troops to Ukraine. He emphasized that this idea has not been seriously discussed within the Estonian government or the European Union.

A recent report by an American publication Breaking Defense, citing President Alar Karis' security advisor Madis Roll, suggested that Estonia might be considering sending its troops to Ukraine.

“I think that they [Breaking Defense] may have interpreted Madis Roll’s words too boldly. There is certainly no such initiative on the part of Estonia, and Estonia is certainly not going to do something on its own,” Pevkur said.

Pevkure went on to state that there had been no specific discussions of such a possibility within the government: “There’s nothing new here. When France raised the idea of considering whether Europe and its allies could do more, this idea was mentioned in various discussions, but it didn’t get anywhere because there’s currently no clear understanding among allies about what it could bring,” according to Pevkur.

The current priority is to send ammunition to Ukraine and to train military personnel in other countries.

​​"The primary focus is to send ammunition and other equipment to Ukraine. And [military] training can be conducted in Poland, which is very close to Ukraine,” the defense minister added.