Ukraine and Estonia concluded a security agreement. What does it mean?

On June 27, Ukraine and Estonia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of security. It provides for financial and military assistance and support for Ukraine on its way to NATO and the EU.

With this agreement, Ukraine and Estonia deepen their cooperation to help Ukraine win the war as soon as possible and prevent current and future attacks. It is also aimed at supporting the economic stability of Ukraine and its recovery.

Defense and security

According to the agreement, Estonia will provide more than €100 million in defense aid to Ukraine this year and will continue to provide multilateral support throughout the ten-year term of the document.

In addition, the Estonian government will allocate at least 0.25% of GDP each year during 2024-2027 for military support. Estonia was the first to propose fixing the percentage of GDP to support Ukraine in bilateral security agreements.

The document establishes separate components of long-term military assistance to Ukraine, in particular, regarding the types of weapons provided by Estonia, namely: artillery (122 and 155 mm howitzers), Milan anti-tank missile systems, rockets and mines, Carl Gustaf and Instalaza C90 grenade launchers, unmanned systems and EW tools.

Estonia undertook to continue the training of the Ukrainian military within the framework of the Interflex operation and the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM).

The countries will also continue to deepen cooperation in the field of intelligence.

Political cooperation and prosecution

The countries agreed to work to achieve peace in Ukraine. Estonia undertook to continue the sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation and to oppose the circumvention of sanctions.

Both countries confirmed that the leadership of the Russian Federation must be held accountable for the aggression, and Russia itself must pay for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine.

Cooperation in the non-military sphere

Estonia supports Ukraineʼs aspirations to join NATO and the EU, and will also assist in the implementation of the necessary reforms.

Also, Estonia will help Ukraine counter Russian and any other cyberattacks, in particular within the framework of the Tallinn Mechanism created in 2023.

Estonia will allocate €56 million for development cooperation and humanitarian support to Ukraine in 2024-2027. The country will help with reconstruction, its priority region for this is the Zhytomyr region.

The country will also help in the humanitarian sphere, in particular, it will support vulnerable population groups — women, children and internally displaced persons.

Cooperation in case of future armed attack

In the event of a future armed attack by Russia on Ukraine, at the request of any party to the agreement, its participants will hold consultations within 24 hours in a bilateral format. Estonia will provide quick and sustainable assistance in the field of security, economic assistance.

The agreement remains valid for ten years.

• Currently, Ukraine has concluded 20 bilateral security agreements to implement the provisions of the G7 Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine, adopted in Vilnius on July 12, 2023. Ukraine has signed bilateral security agreements with Great Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Japan, the USA, the EU, Estonia and Lithuania.