Russia launched a full-scale aggression against Ukraine on February 24, when Estonia celebrates Independence Day. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said whether the country was preparing for the fact that Russia would also start a war against his country.
In an exclusive interview with Channel 24, Hanno Pevkur recalled that it was February 24, 2022 in Estonia. In particular, he noted that this day was not ordinary.
Estonia knew about Russia's plans in advance
“February 24 is Estonia's Independence Day. We woke up knowing that we had Independence Day, and, in fact, we woke up in a war. So, of course, this day was not an ordinary day in many ways,” the minister said.
The head of the defense department said that he did not have the feeling that Russia could unleash a war with Estonia or the Baltic countries. In particular, Estonian intelligence monitored the situation and understood what the Kremlin was preparing for.
No, I didn't have any feeling that Russia could invade Estonia or the Baltic States because we have enough intelligence and we know what Russia is capable of doing. That is why we had an understanding, in a few weeks, what Russia is preparing for in Ukraine,” Pevkur said.
He stressed that many did not believe that Russia would start a war against Ukraine, “but it happened anyway.” “Therefore, it seems that on that day the rest of the country's leadership was forced to change their speeches,” the head of the Defense Ministry added.
Pevkur stressed that even before they started talking about a full-scale war in Estonia, the country was already helping Ukraine.
“We sent the first Javelins before the war in January. We know how much these Javelins helped to keep Kyiv and also recapture Gostomel,” he concluded.
Minister of Defense of Estonia visited Kyiv
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur visited Kyiv on February 26. He met with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov and announced the next package of military assistance to Ukraine.
This time, the package that Estonia handed over to Ukraine's defenders will contain weapons and equipment. It is, in particular, about:
- field Mobile Hospital Role 2,
- machine guns and pistols,
- UAV,
- thermal imagers,
- generators,
- charging device,
- as well as clothes.
Oleksiy Reznikov said that the total amount of assistance to Ukraine from Estonia has already exceeded 1% of GDP. He also thanked Estonia for their help and expressed his admiration for the friendly country.
