The defense minister of one of the most anti-Russian countries spoke unusually frankly.
According to Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, Russia has not weakened to a critical extent during the first nine months of the war in Ukraine. "We have to be honest and clear: the Russian navy and air force are more or less the same size as before the war," Pevkur emphasized to the German news agency dpa during his visit to Berlin. Although the Russian ground forces suffered significant losses, "sooner rather than later", but
they will return to the size they were before the start of the Russo-Ukraine war on February 24, or even bigger
- emphasized the head of the ministry.
According to Pevkur, Moscow will learn from its military experience in Ukraine.
"There is no reason to believe that the threat from Russia has diminished or the threat to NATO has diminished"
said the politician. The minister explained: According to Estonia's plans, next year, 2.84 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) will be spent on defense, and in 2024 this ratio may increase to 3.2 percent, which is much higher than NATO's 2 percent expectation.
Tallinn has so far spent around 1 percent of the country's GDP to support the Ukrainian army, Hanno Pevkur pointed out, who also warned of the danger of "war fatigue" in Western countries. "This is exactly what Moscow wants to achieve.
Russia is ready to suffer for much longer”
- added the Estonian Defense Minister.
(MTI)
Featured image: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
