In Estonia, the Politico article, which says that Tallinn is renewing its weapons at the expense of its EU neighbors and sending old weapons to Ukraine, is considered “malicious slander”. It has been reported MISTAKE.
Estonian Defense Ministry Chancellor Kusti Salm denied Politico’s allegations and called the article false. “This is clearly a malicious slander, Politico is spreading lies to slow down support for Ukraine, to drive a wedge between the allies,” Salm said.
According to him, Estonia did not send the Strela complexes to Ukraine and did not want Stinger instead. “This is the purest malicious lie that a publication as reputable as Politico has ever published for disregarding journalistic ethics,” Salm said.
Asked who could benefit from such a publication, the Estonian Ministry of Defense replied that “it would not surprise anyone that there are forces in the world that do not want a further increase in aid to Ukraine.”
He added that Estonia had requested such a large amount of compensation for weapons from the European Peace Fund, as it sent “many more aid orders from Western countries”. According to the Defense Department Chancellor, Estonia’s aid to Ukraine in the first weeks of the war was the largest of its Western allies after the United States. “We sent over 40,000 anti-tank mines, 100 Javelins, 35,000 automatic rifles – all this before the creation of the European Peace Fund. We have shipped tens of millions of shells, orders much larger than other countries,” Salm said.
According to the Estonian Ministry of Defense, all weapons, equipment and ammunition that the country sent to Ukraine were in working condition and were previously used by the defense forces. “We have done everything possible to help Ukraine. The important thing is not whether the equipment is used or new, but its effect on the battlefield,” the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, Politico wrote that Estonia is updating its weapons at the expense of its EU neighbors and sending obsolete weapons to Ukraine. Several EU diplomats and officials anonymously criticized Estonia’s plan to modernize its weapons with the European Peace Fund. According to one of the sources, Tallinn is sending “garbage” to Ukraine.