In an interview with the Financial Times, Prime Minister of Estonia Kaia Kallas said that some states have already sent their instructors to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian military.
In her opinion, NATO allies should not worry that sending troops to Ukraine to train its soldiers could involve the Alliance in a war with Russia.
She said that "there are countries that are already training soldiers on the ground," and they do so at their own risk. At the same time, Kaya Kallas explains that if Russian troops attacked training personnel of NATO countries in Ukraine, this would not lead to the automatic activation of Article 5 on mutual defense.
"I canʼt imagine that if someone gets hurt there, those who sent their people will say: "This is Article 5. Letʼs... bomb Russia." Thatʼs not how it works. This does not happen automatically. Therefore, these fears have no real basis," Kallas said.
In Estonia, according to the Prime Minister, the approval of the parliament is required to send instructors to Ukraine. "Itʼs an open public debate, but I think we shouldnʼt rule anything out now," she said.
Kallas does not see the risk of a direct conflict with Russia if the allies help Kyiv train Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of Ukraine.
"Russian propaganda only does what it says about war with NATO, so they donʼt need a reason for it. No matter what we do from our side... If they want to attack, they will attack," Kallas believes.
- On May 16, the Parliament of Estonia (Riijikogu) adopted a law that allows the use of frozen assets of Russian individuals to compensate for the damage caused to Ukraine by the war.