Estonian minister calls on EU countries to step up help for Ukraine

European Union countries should step up their aid to Ukraine aiming to provide 1% of their gross domestic product (GDP) to Kiev, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told dpa in an interview.

Estonia has now provided support to Ukraine worth more than 1% of GDP, Tsahkna said on the sidelines of a meeting in Stockholm where EU foreign ministers are expected to meet their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Saturday.

"This is really a lot" for a small country like Estonia, he said.

Tallinn was providing Kiev everything it could "and we really hope that everybody's doing the same," Tsahkna said, adding that the 1% of GDP should be a joint goal.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany has sent military, humanitarian and financial aid worth 0.2% of GDP to Ukraine in the first year after Russia started its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Tsahkna nevertheless acknowledged Germany's efforts in proving military aid to Ukraine, saying it was "a big decision" for Berlin to supply tanks.

The Ukrainians are fighting for us as well, said Tsahkna, whose country has a border with Russia and gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

"It's our freedom and our independence and our security that they are fighting for," he added.

According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany has sent military, humanitarian and financial aid worth 0.2% of GDP to Ukraine in the first year after Russia started its full-scale invasion in February 2022, compared to Estonia's 1.1% of GDP.

Kaynak: DPA