Baltic nations to ship Washington-endorsed arms to Ukraine
HELSINKI
The Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan to send U.S.made anti-tank and antiaircraft missiles to Ukraine, a move that the United States fully endorsed Saturday amid Kyiv’s escalating tensions with Russia.
The defense ministers of the three Baltic states said in a joint statement published late Friday that they “stand united in our commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of continued Russian aggression.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet that Washington saluted the three NATO nations and former Soviet republics “for their longstanding support to Ukraine.”
“I expedited and authorized and we fully endorse transfers of defensive equipment (at)NATO Allies Estonia Latvia Lithuania are providing to Ukraine to strengthen its ability to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and irresponsible aggression,” Blinken said in another tweet.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier this week described the West supplying arms to Ukraine as extremely dangerous and said the shipments “do nothing to reduce tensions.”
Moscow has massed tens of thousands of troops near the RussiaUkraine border, leading to fears of an invasion. The West has rejected Moscow’s main demands – promises from NATO that Ukraine will never be added as a member, that no alliance weapons will be deployed near Russian borders, and that it will pull back its forces from Central and Eastern Europe.
A meeting Friday between Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ended with no breakthrough. Amid the uncertain security situation, the U.S. State Department has been considering a range of options to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and its employees by moving to reduce its diplomatic presence there.
The defense ministers of the Baltic states said in their statement that Estonia would provide Javelin antitank weapons while Latvia and Lithuania were sending Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and other related equipment to bolster Kyiv’s defensive military capabilities. It wasn’t immediately clear when the weapons and equipment would be sent to Ukraine.
“Today, Ukraine is at the forefront of separating Europe from the military conflict with Russia. Let´s face it, the war in Ukraine is ongoing and it is important to support Ukraine in every way we can so that they can resist the aggressor,” Estonian Defense Minister Kalle Laanet said.
Estonia also is seeking Germany’s approval to send Soviet-made howitzers, which once belonged to East Germany, to Ukraine. Estonia acquired the howitzers from nonNATO member Finland, which in turn had bought them from Germany’s military surplus supply in the 1990s.
The German government said Friday that it was considering Estonia’s request to pass the howitzers on to Ukraine but gave no timeline for a decision. Berlin said it planned to coordinate the issue with Finland, which has received a similar approval request from Estonia.
The U.S. State Department is currently warning U.S. citizens not to visit Ukraine due to the coronavirus pandemic but is also advising them to reconsider travel there due to potential Russian aggression.