Estonian Defense Minister: West should change “support for war” to “support for Ukraine’s victory”
The absence of a political decision on Ukraine's victory is the root cause of ineffective Western support, according to Estonia's Defense Minister.
Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said at the GLOBSEC conference in Prague on 31 August that the fundamental issue with Western support for Ukraine is the lack of a political decision on the goal of this support.
Pevkur addressed the “strategic ambiguity” in Western aid to Ukraine. He challenged that this ambiguity prevents the West from providing Ukraine with its needs.
According to the correspondent of the European Pravda, who reports from the conference, Pevkur said that the key question politicians need to answer “is whether we want Ukraine to fight or for Ukraine to win.”
“We lack a political decision that we want Ukraine’s victory. If we make this decision, the next steps become clear,” Pevkur said.
The minister believes that defining Ukraine’s victory as the West’s goal would enable adopting a victory strategy. He said that Estonia, which officially aims for Ukraine’s victory, has already taken these steps.
“The strategy we propose states, in particular, that we should spend 0.25% of GDP on aid to Ukraine,” Pevkur said, expressing confidence that this would be sufficient to supply the weapons Ukraine needs.
“The problem is not in the alleged lack of strategy in Ukraine: Ukraine knows what to do. The problem is the lack of money and lack of weapons. And there are also idiotic restrictions that I don’t understand,” Estonian minister said.
Only a small number of Western politicians and officials publicly call for supporting Ukraine until its victory in the war against Russia. Among them is Estonia’s new Prime Minister, Kristen Michal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at his last press conference in August that he would present a “Plan for Ukraine’s Victory” to US President Joe Biden and presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also said at the Prague GLOBSEC conference that Ukraine’s war victory is non-negotiable.
“There is no alternative to Ukraine winning the war. Because if Russia wins, not only Ukraine loses, but all of us do,” she said.
Read also:
- World Bank to finance Ukrainian education for $ 415 million
- WSJ: US refuses to send contractors to Ukraine to maintain F-16s
- NATO chief Stoltenberg defends Ukraine’s right to strike targets in Russia
You could close this page. Or you could join our community and help us produce more materials like this.
We keep our reporting open and accessible to everyone because we believe in the power of free information. This is why our small, cost-effective team depends on the support of readers like you to bring deliver timely news, quality analysis, and on-the-ground reports about Russia's war against Ukraine and Ukraine's struggle to build a democratic society.
A little bit goes a long way: for as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support.
