Estonian defence minister calls for use of frozen Russian assets for Ukraine

Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem has said the European Union should use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine despite threats from Russia.

Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the EU Council of Defence Ministers, he noted that from Estonia’s perspective, the most important thing at the moment is to support Ukraine at the EU level, bilaterally and through the use of frozen assets, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

According to the minister, a decision to use the assets should be made “despite statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about possible ‘punishment’ of Europe, as well as reports of sabotage by Russian intelligence services”.

“Estonia will continue to support Ukraine to the tune of 0.25% of GDP,” Herem added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov