'Don't Play With Us.' Estonia Sends Message To Russia With Ukraine Aid

If Russia succeeds in overrunning Ukraine, could the Baltics be next?

This fear has loomed over the nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since the invasion began nearly a year ago. The former Soviet-bloc states have been the target of Moscow’s meddling for years. Now the war in Ukraine has given these small countries an opportunity to punch back.

Relative to its size, no nation has been more aggressive in helping Ukraine than Estonia. The small Baltic state has provided Ukraine with nearly $396 million in aid—about half of its defense budget and more than 1% of its gross domestic product. The donations place Estonia, which has just 7,000 active-duty soldiers in its military, among the world leaders. While European giants like Germany had to be coaxed into delivering modern battle tanks to Kyiv, Estonia has handed over whatever it could: anti-tank missiles, howitzers, grenade-launchers, mortars, ammunition, vehicles, communication devices, helmets, body armor, and military food rations. The nation of 1.3 million has taken in more than 60,000 refugees from Ukraine, a higher percentage than any other nation in the European Union.

The outsized support is intended to send a clear message to the Kremlin. “Don’t play with us,” said Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pekvur during a joint-press conference in Tallinn Thursday with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/don-t-play-us-estonia-214443341.html