Estonia and Ukraine fail to sign drone deal after Zelenskyy visit
This week, as part of the Ukraine–Nordic–Baltic summit held in Tallinn, Estonia signed a joint declaration with Ukraine on cooperation but did not sign a drone agreement. Latvia, however, did sign a drone agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in Tallinn, pledged to work with Estonia and other European countries supporting Ukraine to neutralize Ukrainian drones that end up in countries neighboring Russia.
Zelenskyy referred to the drone cooperation agreement as a "drone deal."
Responding to a question from ERR journalist Tatjana Gassova, Zelenskyy explained that the agreement is not limited to purchasing drones but also provides for the exchange of experience, specialist training and security cooperation.
Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine is already engaged in such cooperation with its European partners and is ready to promptly dispatch experts to help advance the partnership.
Estonia did sign a declaration of intent on Estonia-Ukraine cooperation, but not the drone deal.
"On June 9, the Estonian prime minister and the president of Ukraine signed a joint declaration on enhanced security and defense cooperation. This is a declaration of intent confirming the political will of both countries to strengthen and expand defense cooperation, including in the field of drones. Estonia's goal is to strengthen our defense capabilities with the support of Ukrainian knowledge and technology. We certainly want to make use of Ukraine's extensive experience in the drone sector," government media adviser Jevgenia Värä explained.
"The joint declaration is a starting point that will be followed by more detailed discussions, specific agreements and practical cooperation. Negotiations are still ongoing, so it is not possible to comment in greater detail on their current status or timeline," she added.
Latvia, however, signed the agreement when Zelenskyy met with Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs.
In a subsequent statement, the Office of the President of Ukraine noted that this was already the sixth agreement of its kind Ukraine has concluded with partners.
"Thanks to the drone agreement, Ukraine and Latvia will gain a number of new opportunities for joint production, particularly in the defense sector, which is vital in the face of current security threats," the statement said.
"Latvia will help strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities by providing support in the development of drones, air defense and missile defense. The agreement covers the supply of defense equipment, financing of Ukrainian production, the promotion of bilateral defense cooperation and the exchange of technologies, experience and expertise, including in the establishment of an integrated air defense system," the Office of the President of Ukraine said.
According to Kulbergs, the agreement will provide Latvia with technological know-how and opportunities for joint production.
"We must protect our airspace and no one knows how to do that better than Ukraine," Kulbergs said at a joint press conference with Zelenskyy and other leaders attending the summit. He added that the vast majority of Russian soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine have died as a result of drone attacks.
After the Tallinn summit, Kulbergs wrote on social media that, under the agreement, experts from Ukraine's counter-drone units would arrive in Latvia "immediately."
Last month, Zelenskyy said that nearly 20 countries had expressed interest in drone agreements.
"Ukraine is interested in ensuring that every region of Europe has sufficient protection against Russian threats," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
In recent weeks, drones have repeatedly entered the airspace of all three Baltic states, which are NATO members. The incidents have coincided with Ukraine's intensified long-range strikes against Russian energy infrastructure.
According to Ukraine, Russia is behind these incidents, using electronic warfare capabilities to alter drones' flight paths.
In a joint statement issued after the Tallinn summit, the group of countries known as the NB8 said cooperation with Ukraine would focus on applying battlefield experience, training and information sharing, as well as defense industrial and technological cooperation.
"We welcome cooperation in the field of drones and other Ukrainian technologies that have proven themselves on the battlefield. We also value Ukraine's readiness to share data and export defense industry capabilities and technology in order to develop joint production with European partners," the statement said.
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Editor: Valner Väino, Marcus Turovski
Source: Reuters, LSM
