As the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war continues to escalate, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will be allocating 650,000 euros in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The aid will primarily support the educational system in frontline areas and will assist children who are gravely affected by the war.
According to the Kyiv Independent, part of the aid will be distributed through the Estonian nonprofit organization Eesti Pagulasabi and the main focus of the aid will be to improve living conditions in vulnerable regions and aid Ukrainian refugees in Georgia.
In addition to this nonprofit organisation, Mondo will use part of the funds to organise summer camps and provide mental health support for the children in Zaporzhzhia.
The need for the aid package
While announcing the aid package, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna emphasised that Estonia is committed to supporting Ukraine amidst its ongoing war against Russia which has already caused significant civilian casualties and displacement.
“Daily attacks, including in Kharkiv Oblast in recent weeks, have led to the deaths of civilians, the destruction of buildings, and the forced displacement of thousands of vulnerable people from their homes. It is our duty to support them in every possible way,” Tsahkna said in a statement.
It is important to note that the Baltic nation has been among the staunchest supporters of Kyiv ever since Russia commenced its full-scale invasion of the Eastern European nation. In January this year, Estonia allocated 14 million euros ($15.2 million) in development aid for Ukraine which is expected to be disbursed annually.
Not only this, Estonia’s defence contributions to Ukraine have amounted to around 500 million euros since the start of the war. The figure accounts for around 1.4% of the country’s GDP.
Some of the main areas of support to which Estonia contributes significantly are, humanitarian aid, development cooperation and reconstruction in Ukraine.
Estonia is also the central coordinator of cyber assistance in Kyiv through the Tallinn Mechanism, which includes 10 donors and two observers (NATO and the EU) in addition to this, the country actively provides aid to Ukrainian refugees as well.
What about defence?
Interestingly, Estonia was among the first Ukrainian allies to provide defence assistance to the war-stricken nation. Some of the assistance was provided even before Russia launched a full-scale invasion into the Ukrainian territory.
The country has provided Ukraine with weapons, that include howitzers, various kinds of antitank equipment, mortars, and various handguns), equipment (vehicles, military uniform, medical supplies, PPE, communications equipment) and large quantities of different kinds of ammunition.
With the help of countries like Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Iceland, the Baltic state has also donated four fully equipped mobile field hospitals and conducted military training for more than 1300 Ukrainian soldiers.
With inputs from agencies.
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