My message at #UAPeaceSummit opening plenary:

Sovereignty, territorial integrity and discrediting aggression as a tool of statecraft are crucial principles that must be upheld in case of Ukraine and globally.

These principles are essential for just and lasting peace. 1/ That is why I’m concerned about so-called peace plans and initiatives that ignore the core UN Charter principles.

We cannot treat Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty as somewhat secondary.

Without these core principles we cannot achieve a just and lasting peace. 2/

Today we honour the memory of the March deportation victims.

75 years ago, over 20,000 Estonians, including infants and the elderly, were taken from their homes and sent to Siberia in unimaginable conditions by the Soviet occupation regime.

My own family was also deported. 1/ We remember each and every one who perished. We are thankful for those who returned.

Their stories must be told.

The world should never forget the atrocities committed by the Soviet regime in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. 2/

My message after meeting with the President of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa:

#Estonia believes in #Ukraine's victory.

We believe in Ukraine, which is a country with liberal democracy and a free market economy and will become a member of the European Union and NATO. 1/



These are crucial times. We need to keep our focus.

Estonia supports Ukraine for as long as necessary and as much as necessary for victory.

If we let aggression pay off, we will all find ourselves in a much more dangerous world. 2/

My message after meeting with the President of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa:

#Estonia believes in #Ukraine's victory.

We believe in Ukraine, which is a country with liberal democracy and a free market economy and will become a member of the European Union and NATO. 1/



These are crucial times. We need to keep our focus.

Estonia supports Ukraine for as long as necessary and as much as necessary for victory.

If we let aggression pay off, we will all find ourselves in a much more dangerous world. 2/

Honoured to receive the Marion Dönhoff Prize by @DIEZEIT in Hamburg.

In my acceptance speech, I focused on the security situation in Europe. My message: the case is very clear, there is a criminal and a victim and there is a smoking gun.

It is as black and white as it gets. 1/



History has proven it over and over again that accommodating Russia will not make it less dangerous.

Russia’s large-scale genocidal war against Ukraine has opened up many old wounds in Europe. 2/

During my visit to D.C., I had many good meetings on the Hill with Senators and Representatives.

The meetings focused on the global threat landscape and security, including defence cooperation between Estonia and the U.S. and supporting Ukraine.

Here's a recap: 1/





With the Senate Republican leadership @LeaderMcConnell, @SenJohnThune and others @SenateGOP, we focused on the need to send a strong signal that aggression does not pay off. I outlined what Estonia and Europe are doing to support Ukraine and bolster our own defence. 2/

Highlighted at #EUDFF23 why we must focus on conventional defence and deterrence.

Russia wants to redraw the map of Europe, including by re-establishing spheres of influence.

Just imagine – in Ukraine it occupies an area that spans the size of Virginia or Tennessee. 1/





For peace, we need to break Russia's cycle of aggressions.

@TimothyDSnyder has said: to become better, a country must lose its last imperial war.

The EU came about when Europeans lost their colonial wars. Now it’s Russia’s turn. Russia must be militarily defeated in Ukraine. 2/

I emphasised at the @HelSecForum that Ukraine is fighting a long war against the aggressor.

There’s no speedy victory, so we should all have a plan for a long struggle.

Uncertain times are full of traps.

#HSF2023

1/



First, the trap of hope.

There's hope of a quick win. We should know by now we are in this for thenlong haul. Ukraine's counteroffensive has been ongoing since Feb 2022. 2/

My message ahead of #NATOSummit:

#Russia is and will remain the most significant and direct threat to #NATO.

To counter the Russian threat, the decisions we make here at #VilniusSummit must strengthen our collective defence. 1/ We must agree on new regional defence plans that are backed with necessary forces and equipment.

We must all invest more in defence.

2% of GDP now should be a minimum obligation, but more is urgently needed. Estonia will allocate 3% of GDP, plus Host Nation Support costs. 2/

🧵 In my address at IISS Shangri-La Dialogue #SLD23 I pointed out:

We may be oceans apart but security challenges in the Indo Pacific and Euro-Atlantic area are inseparable.

Aggression by a permanent member of UNSC against Ukraine is a threat that has global implications. 1/ Russia isn't typically thought of as a colonial power.

That is why we rarely hear about Soviet Russia’s colonial policy in Central and Eastern Europe.

But my own country Estonia went through Russia’s colonization for almost half a century, up until 1991. 2/

🧵 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/

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/

Today, with @krisjaniskarins and @IngridaSimonyte, we agreed: we all support accelerating the synchronisation of our power grids with Central Europe.

We will look for a joint timeline as soon as technical studies are finished. Our ministers will continue working on details. 1/ #Ukraine’s fight for freedom and our efforts to end the cycle of Russian aggression are far from over.

We must continue our joint efforts to ensure Ukraine’s victory.

This also means delivering on the EU ammunition initiative. All Member States must do their share ASAP. 2/

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/ @ZelenskyyUa For peace in Europe, we need Ukraine in the #EU and @NATO.

This is also the message of the joint declaration @ZelenskyyUa and I signed today.

Ukraine's fight, loss and sacrifice have made it crystal clear – the way to lasting peace is to end grey areas in European security.  2/

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/

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/

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/

🧵 @NewStatesman asked me to look back on the past year.

2022 has made the face of Russian occupation and war crimes visible to the whole world. It's also made clear why giving anything to the aggressor and seeking premature peace is dangerous. 1/

📎newstatesman.com/world/europe/2… Why is Russia waging genocidal war against Ukraine?

My response: look at history. Soviet Union fell, its imperialism never did. Stalinism returned. Use of force continued, against Moldova, Georgia, Crimea, Donbas.

Russia's full-scale war shouldn't have come as a surprise. 2/

I welcome the EU’s agreement on setting a price cap on Russian oil.

Crippling Russia's energy revenues is at the core of stopping Russia’s war machine.

I engaged personally in the negotiations as drying up Russian resources to wage war is an existential matter to us. 1/ Every dollar counts.

Every dollar negotiated down = ca $2 billions less for Russia.

Going from $65 per barrel to $60 = 10 billion dollars less for Russia to finance its genocidal war against Ukrainians. 2/

Thank you @MarinSanna for taking us into the woods in Haltia and @vonderleyen for launching #NewEuropeanBauhaus Academy for sustainable construction.

Estonia, Finland and Sweden will contribute by creating a platform that develops skills related to sustainable use of wood. 1/6 I am also happy Estonia will join the #NordicBauhaus family and develop a shared culture and vision with Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Faroe Islands in building the best living environment that connects people with nature. 2/6

🧵In my speech "The Battle of Our Time" @PaasikiviS, I asked:

Do we grasp the magnitude of what's happening in #Ukraine? And what would be the price of failure?

This war isn't just about Ukraine but the rules-based world order and future security architecture of Europe. 1/12 Atrocities that were memories of the past have become nightmares of today.

We witness state-orchestrated war crimes. Incitement to commit genocide is a distinct crime whether or not genocide actually follows.

And we see from the deeds of Russian soldiers these calls work. 2/12