Michal calls Ukraine’s NATO membership Estonia’s strongest security guarantee

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Ukraine’s NATO membership would be the country’s strongest long-term security guarantee, and that Estonia would continue its comprehensive support for Ukraine. He made the remarks after meeting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Tallinn, ERR reported.

Michal said supporting Ukraine was part of Estonia’s own security because Russia’s aims had not changed. He said Russia was testing allied unity with hybrid attacks and trying to shift attention away from Ukraine, but Estonia would not let that weaken support.

Estonia’s military aid to Ukraine will amount to 0.28 percent of GDP this year, down from 0.35 percent last year, Michal said. Estonia has contributed 21 million euros to NATO’s Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative and will provide a further 10 million euros, he announced.

PURL is a NATO-coordinated programme under which alliance members and partners pay for weapons purchased from the United States and sent to Ukraine. The United States has largely stopped donating weapons to Ukraine under President Donald Trump, while continuing to provide Kyiv with essential intelligence, the article said.

Michal said Ukraine needed more weapons, especially more effective air defence, to withstand Russian attacks. He added that Estonia was learning from Ukraine’s experience to develop its own defence capabilities and defence industry.

Ukraine’s NATO membership is not currently possible because several countries, primarily the United States, oppose it. Membership would also require allies to honour Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which commits them to assist a member under attack.

Rutte said NATO was protecting its eastern flank, including through air defence, and safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure. He said Russia’s hybrid attacks would not undermine allied support for Ukraine and that NATO responds to them, although the response may not always be visible to the public.

Asked about claims that NATO could cut Russia off from the Gulf of Finland or the entire Baltic Sea in a conflict, Michal referred to the Strait of Hormuz, saying people could consider what might happen in the Baltic Sea if Russia attacked and “connect the dots.”