Estonia Giving Dozens of Howitzers to Ukraine, Seeks Replacement Under European Peace Fund

Estonia is providing Ukraine with dozens of 155mm FH-70 and 122mm D-30 howitzers in its latest fund that runs into millions of euros, and has applied for restoring the equipment and stocks from the European Peace Facility.

Estonia and the United Kingdom called together an international meeting where participating states presented their newest military aid packages for Ukraine, which also include a significant amount of heavy weapons.

“Ukraine needs heavy weapons the most in order to maintain their initiative and stand against Russia, who is at the moment preparing to restore its military force. In challenging times, we need Allies who are ready to take the leadership role. Estonia with our close Ally United Kingdom is one of the countries that can be counted on. I am glad that we have also managed to include other Allies to bring about changes on the battlefield,” said Minister of Defence of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur.

The Estonian aid package this time focuses on indirect fire and anti-tank weaponry. The newest package is also the biggest thus far. It includes dozens of 155mm FH-70 and 122mm D-30 howitzers, thousands of units of artillery ammunition, support vehicles for the artillery units, and hundreds of grenade launchers Carl-Gustav M2, with ammunition. The replacement value of the entire package is ca €113 million.

In Tapa, the British Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace presented the next military aid package for Ukraine, which includes among others the Challenger 2 tanks, AS-90 artillery and armoured vehicles.

At the meeting held at the Tapa Military Camp, the participants included besides Estonia and the United Kingdom also representatives from 12 countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain.

The delegations also met with the Estonian and Allied NATO forces stationed at the Tapa Military Camp.

With this newest package of aid, Estonia has provided Ukraine with military aid in the replacement value of €370 million euros, which makes up about half of the Estonian 2022 defence budget and more than 1% of the Estonian GDP. This places Estonia among the leading countries in providing aid to Ukraine.

Estonia said it is applying for restoring the equipment and stocks from the European Peace Facility, which thus far has decided on 156 million euros of reimbursement for Estonia. It will also continue to provide Ukrainian forces with basic and special training.