At the video meeting organised by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Reinsalu stressed that in light of Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s critical civilian infrastructure, work on reconstruction must continue.
“We must help the people of Ukraine cope in a situation where Russia is deliberately attacking civilian sites, including residential buildings and hospitals, and energy infrastructure,” Reinsalu said. He added that Ukraine urgently needed assistance in boosting its air defence capabilities to protect critical infrastructure and people. “With these attacks, which are depriving people of warmth and light during the darkest months of the year, Russia is trying to break people’s morale and fighting spirit.”
The people, private sector and NGOs of Estonia have donated a total of €23.1 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. “In the autumn and winter, we concentrated on aid to help the people of Ukraine prepare for and survive the winter,” Reinsalu said. Estonia’s shipments to Ukraine have included generators, winter clothes, food aid and energy equipment.
Reinsalu underlined that in addition to humanitarian aid and reconstruction, the priority was to help Ukraine win Russia’s war of aggression, which has continued for almost a year now. “Ukraine’s victory is the security guarantee of all of Europe,” he said. “Today I am repeating my call at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels yesterday: all Western countries should increase their defence aid to Ukraine to 1 percent of their GDP.”
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