Kyiv – (Reuters)
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu announced on Monday that European countries should double their defense spending amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, adding that his country intends to increase defense spending to 3% of GDP.
Rencalo said this in an interview with Reuters, during a visit to Kiev with six other foreign ministers.
The visit aims to show support for Kiev as it grapples with power outages following a series of Russian drone and missile attacks.
“We would like European countries to double their defense spending during and after the war in Ukraine, and we will spend 3% of our GDP on national defense,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week that member states of the military alliance, of which Estonia is a part, could decide to spend more on defense than they currently aim for at 2% of national output.
Many NATO members have already increased their military spending since the Ukraine-Russia war in February.
Rensalo also said that the European Union, which includes 27 countries including Estonia, should also increase the level of funding it allocates for military support to Ukraine.
