🧵 In my keynote at #CSD2023 on Ukraine’s Path to Victory, I asked: how to end this war?
My answer in short: the faster Putin understands he has made a mistake, he will not reach his objectives and won’t be able to break Ukrainians, the sooner this war ends. 1/
Longer answer: for victory there are conditions and policies we need to pursue.
To begin with, as President @ZelenskyyUa says, freedom must be armed better than tyranny.
Arms, ammunition, training – they all must continue at a scale sufficient for Ukraine to win the war. 2/
However, it’s not only battlefield success that will decide the outcome of the war.
We must show the Kremlin it cannot outlast Ukraine and the free world economically.
So, Ukraine’s victory also depends on our ability to dry up the Kremlin’s income to finance aggression. 3/
For lasting peace in Europe, we need accountability. Without this, Russia’s cycle of violence will never stop.
Taking responsibility is the basis for a society to have a future. It's the basis for breaking the cycle of aggression. 4/
Until that’s not the case, we must prepare for the worst. Life next to a pariah state has a cost.
We need to adapt and strengthen our own defence and security.
Stability in Europe is secured by a geopolitical EU and by NATO that’s able to defend Europe militarily. 5/
We also need to end grey zones in Europe. Grey zones fuel conflicts and invite dictators to invade.
It has become clear that for peace in Europe, we need Ukraine in NATO and the EU. 6/
The Kremlin sees liberal democracy as its biggest enemy.
The focus is currently on conventional war. Rightly so – the aggressor must be defeated on the battlefield.
But Russia is also waging a war against our democracies – energy war, information war, cyberwar. 7/
We in Estonia, at the frontline of democracy, have long been aware of Russia’s hybrid tactics.
They try to influence political and social choices. They aim to undermine trust both within and between societies. One of Russia’s goals is to undermine unity between Allies. 8/
Russia is a pariah state that needs to be isolated. You can't interpret it via a democratic lens.
There's no room for appeasement or flirtation with business as usual.
Half-baked solutions are dangerous. Our joint pressure against Russia must increase, not decrease. 9/
That's why the international approach to Russia must remain firm and long-term.
Our focus must be to ensure that aggression ends in defeat and we're prepared to stop its expansion.
For this, we need to believe in Ukraine – a precondition to give the help needed for victory. 10/
My full remarks at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit #CDS2023:
I emphasised at the Estonian-Danish business seminar that Estonia is an open, resilient and dynamic business environment with a strong startup culture.
Our flagship companies are our unicorns. We have 10 unicorns and the highest number of start-ups per capita in Europe. 1/
Estonia has come a very long way after we emerged from the totalitarian prison 31 years ago.
In this process, we have received a lot of help from our friends. Denmark and other Nordic countries were a great example for us in building up our country and economy. 2/
In the startup and tech ecosystem, there is global competition. Individually we are all too small to go it alone, but the Nordic-Baltic region together has a population of 33 million and generates around 2% of global GDP. 3/
I am in #Ukraine on my first visit as the head of Estonia's new government.
@ZelenskyyUa, I am here with a message of firm belief – I believe in Ukraine's victory and I believe in Ukraine as a prosperous liberal democracy that belongs in the Euro-Atlantic family. 1/
Here is what I emphasised at #MSC2023 Women’s Breakfast: Russia’s aggression is not only European issue or “regional conflict”. What is at stake in Ukraine is the right to exist as a country. Russia is testing if conquering and colonizing in the 21st century is acceptable. 1/
The Euro-Atlantic community has been on the right track with their support to Ukraine. But it's equally true that lives could have saved if we had helped Ukraine already before 24 February. And it's true that as long as human suffering continues, we have not done enough. 2/
We must step up military support, and continue to raise the cost of war for Moscow, until the last Russian soldier has left Ukraine.
We must hold war criminals accountable.
We must cut off Russia´s export revenues. We must make Russia pay for everything it destroys. 3/
The government decided today to send #Estonia's biggest aid package of heavy weapons so far to #Ukraine.
This takes our total military aid to Ukraine over 1% of our GDP.
The package includes howitzers, grenade launchers and ammunition - what Ukraine has asked us for. 1/
We all want the war to end but #Russia has sent a clear signal that it wants to continue its war of aggression.
Despite losses in manpower and technology, Russia has still thousands of tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery in its warehouses ready to dash into war. 2/
#Russia also has huge manpower and will continue to mobilise hundreds of thousands.
It has also increased the workload and capacity of its war industry. 3/
First leaders-level #EUASEANSummit is an excellent opportunity to deepen EU-ASEAN cooperation.
I emphasised we are all more linked than ever – in addition to climate crisis, difficulties resulting from COVID, we also face Russia’s war in Ukraine and its global consequences. 1/
Russia’s aggression is not only an European issue or a “regional conflict”.
What is at stake in Ukraine are the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law: including territorial integrity and sovereignty – that is, the right to exist as a country. 2/
Situation is clear-cut: there is one aggressor and one victim.
Russia seeks to destroy a sovereign UN Member State. It's testing if conquering a country in 21st century is acceptable.
Our task is to prove him wrong or the whole rules-based international order is in danger. 3/