Ott Tammik

Estonia’s government criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s warning that Russia could be preparing to attack the Baltic states, in a rare rebuke from one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies.

Some countries are doing business with Moscow, but Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are maintaining their hard line.

Estonia’s prime minister said there’s no alternative to Ukraine’s full membership in the European Union as the bloc’s leaders gather to discuss closer ties with the war-battered nation.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal maintained his backing for Kyiv’s campaign of attacks against Russian port facilities in the Baltic region after Ukrainian drones again strayed into Estonian and Finnish territory.

Officials on Europe’s eastern flank urged lawmakers to find sustainable sources of revenue to finance a massive surge in defense spending and avoid growing government borrowing across the continent.

Europe shouldn’t take the Kremlin’s bait by engaging in direct talks with Russia at a time when Ukraine has gained the upper hand in its fight, Estonia’s top diplomat warned.

European nations are seeing higher prices for defense supplies that have climbed in some cases by more than 50% in the last two years as NATO allies ramp up military spending, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.

The Baltic states have hit back against a Kremlin “disinformation campaign” claiming that they’ve opened their airspace to allow Ukrainian drones to strike Russia.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna accused Russia of “guiding” stray Ukrainian military drones toward NATO countries after a series of airspace incursions caused disruption in the Baltic states this week.

Estlands Außenminister Margus Tsahkna hat Russland beschuldigt, verirrte ukrainische Militärdrohnen gezielt in Richtung Nato-Staaten zu lenken, nachdem mehrere Luftraumverletzungen in dieser Woche in den baltischen Staaten zu Störungen geführt haben.