Estonia Outlines Western Strategy for Ukraine's Victory

Estonia has outlined a three-year strategy for Western countries to help Ukraine win the war against Russia.

According to Estonian public broadcaster ERR, the document, prepared by the Estonian Defence Ministry, is intended for all countries participating in the Ramstein working group on Ukraine’s defence.

It states that if Western countries consolidate their efforts, they will not need to invest all that much to contribute to Ukraine’s victory.

The document’s main argument is that the West should not be afraid to help Ukraine in this war.

With the combined GDP of the Ramstein working group countries standing at €47 trillion, only 0.2% of this amount has been directed to aid for Ukraine so far. Russia’s GDP is estimated to be only €2 trillion.

"The size of the West’s economy is 10 times larger than Russia’s. The difference is huge. The problem is that Russia has already transitioned to a military economy, meaning that half of their economy is working directly for this, while in the West this has not been the case; they have not yet woken up, so to speak," said Kalev Stoicescu, Chairman of the Estonian parliament's National Defence Committee.

Western countries need to ramp up defence industry production, Estonian experts said, stressing that political will could significantly accelerate the timeframe for increasing defence production.

"If the Western military-industrial sector had been given a clear signal from the very beginning of the war that it needed to significantly increase production, it would be completely different today," said Indrek Kannik, director of the International Centre for Defence and Security.:

This week, the UK and Ukraine signed a bilateral security agreement. Experts believe that bilateral agreements like this will be the key to sustained support for Ukraine. 

Estonia has promised to provide Ukraine with aid in the amount of 0.25% of its GDP over the course of four years.

Estonia will provide Ukraine with a total of €1.2 billion in aid before 2027.