Estonia is helping the Ukrainian army purchase weapons and equipment on world arms markets, Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on Monday.
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According to him, there is an agreement between the Ministries of Defense of Estonia and Ukraine that Estonia will help the Ukrainians in arms procurement activities.
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“We are engaged in procurement for Ukraine. Everything is done with Ukrainian money. On our part, purchases requested by Ukraine are organized by the defense investment center operating within the Ministry of Defense. The center has the necessary contacts in the world for procurement,” Pevkur, who visited Kyiv for last week said.
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The head of the Ministry of Defense explained why Ukraine needs such mediation activities from Estonia.
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“Ukraine, with the help of Estonia, can receive everything faster and easier. To be even more specific, Ukraine simply now has something to do besides processing procurement documents. They have money, they need something, and we help them get it,” – Pevkur emphasized.
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The minister did not talk about what weapons systems Estonia is helping Ukraine purchase abroad, or about the financial volume of purchases. “There was an agreement not to publish information about this,” he added.
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Pevkur noted that Estonia is one of the few countries to which Ukraine has turned for help in procurement.
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“We have a very good team that is involved in these purchases. We have very good connections all over the world. We have the ability to coordinate and deliver everything, and the logistics are very good,” the minister assured.
