Foreign Minister Tsahkna meeting with Zelenskyy and Sybiha in Kyiv: Estonia and Ukraine agree that isolation and pressure on Russia are the path to peace

“Estonia’s support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unwavering, because it is also in our own security interest that attempts to change borders by force do not succeed,” said Foreign Minister Tsahkna. He added that Estonia’s foreign policy line has not changed and that supporting Ukraine in resisting aggression remains a key foreign policy priority for Estonia.
 
“As long as Russia’s objective to destroy Ukraine and reshape Europe’s security has not changed, neither will our policy of isolation and pressure towards Russia. In our meetings in Kyiv, we shared the clear understanding that the only way to a just and lasting peace is through continued political, economic and military support for Ukraine, and through isolating and pressuring the aggressor, Russia, and depriving it of the economic means needed to wage war,” Tsahkna said.
 
“Europe has been consistent in its support for Ukraine and has continued the policy of supporting Ukraine and pressuring Russia that was shaped from the very first days of the war. We will continue working with the European Union to ensure that the 20th sanctions package is adopted as soon as possible. This package must include sanctions against Russia’s energy companies, its shadow fleet and those enabling its activities, and its central element must be a ban on maritime services for vessels exporting Russian energy carriers,” Tsahkna said.
 
“Estonia will continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine at a level of at least 0.25% of GDP every year. We have also contributed to NATO’s weapons assistance initiative, PURL,” Tsahkna said. “As this year’s chair of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation format (NB8), we will keep support for Ukraine at the heart of our joint action.”
 
“We will also continue our work to advance Ukraine’s path towards membership of the European Union, and to ensure that Ukraine can swiftly begin using the €90 billion loan for 2026–2027 agreed by EU leaders at the end of last year,” Tsahkna said. According to him, work is also continuing on developing strong security guarantees. “Estonia already announced its readiness to contribute to a coalition of the willing last spring.”
 
At the meeting, the foreign ministers also discussed options for cooperation to close the doors of the Schengen area to Russian fighters. “Russian fighters who have committed atrocities in Ukraine pose a security threat to Europe, and we must act to ensure that they cannot enter the Schengen area as ordinary travellers,” Tsahkna said.
 
As part of the visit, Tsahkna also announced Estonia’s support to help Ukraine overcome the energy crisis.
 
“Russia has not achieved success on the battlefield and is not on a path to victory. Instead, Russia has directed its attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in order to deprive Ukrainians of heating, electricity and water during the coldest winter of the past 16 years, and thereby break their will to fight. Estonia’s humanitarian and energy assistance provide warmth and shelter and help Ukrainians survive the winter,” Tsahkna said. Yesterday, he opened a mobile crisis centre in Kyiv’s Troieshchyna district, established with Estonian funding. Two more similar centres funded by Estonia will be opened in the near future.
 
“The crisis centre provides a round-the-clock place where residents of apartment buildings without heating and electricity can seek shelter from the cold, charge devices, and access drinking water, the internet, as well as hot drinks and light food,” Tsahkna said.
 
The crisis centres are being established by the NGO Mondo in cooperation with its partner organisation Dobrobat, with funding from the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and donors.
 
According to the foreign minister, Estonia will also continue contributing to Ukraine’s reconstruction and is preparing to host the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Tallinn in 2027.
 
“To ensure the normal functioning of Ukrainian society and to mitigate the consequences of the destruction caused by Russia, Estonia continues reconstruction projects in Zhytomyr Oblast. Thanks to Estonia, the children’s shelter in the city of Zhytomyr now has a warm, fully equipped bomb shelter, and internally displaced persons have a social housing building with 36 apartments in Ovruch,” Tsahkna said yesterday after the opening of the two facilities.
 
Pictures: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCJzgJ