Estonia and nine other states launched the Tallinn Mechanism to strengthen cyber support for Ukraine in the civic sphere on 20 December.

The Tallinn Mechanism, as noted by Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was established at the first meeting of donor countries this spring. This mechanism will organise Ukraine's needs and correlate them with the capabilities of donors so that support from various countries forms a unified whole, enabling Ukraine to defend itself in the cybersphere.

Donors of the Tallinn Mechanism include Estonia, the Netherlands, Canada, Poland, France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, the United States and the United Kingdom. NATO and the European Union are observers in this mechanism.

The mechanism has an Estonian front office in Kyiv, a Polish back office in Warsaw, and a coordination group that brings together representatives from Ukraine and all donors. The mechanism is open to the participation of new members. High-tech companies and non-governmental organisations from donor countries are involved in the mechanism.

Estonia is allocating €500,000 to the Tallinn Mechanism through its development cooperation budget for 2024, a statement by the ministry says.

The Tallinn Mechanism works in parallel with the IT coalition, which is engaged in solving Ukraine's cyber problems in the military sphere.

"Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is not waged solely on the conventional battlefield… Russia’s targets include Ukraine’s cyber capabilities, both military and civilian, and therefore, it is crucial to support Ukraine’s cyber defence and its capacity to restore and develop relevant infrastructure," commented Margus Tsahkna, Estonia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"Unfortunately, it is likely that Russia’s cyberattacks will continue for the foreseeable future. This is why with the Mechanism we are offering a chance to reinforce Ukraine’s systematic preparedness and resilience to cyberattacks in the long term," the minister added.

UK Defence Intelligence considers the cyberattack on the Ukrainian mobile operator Kyivstar to be one of the most destructive operations of its kind since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

Countering cyber and hybrid threats will be among the long-term security commitments the EU is preparing for Ukraine.