Umerov proposes Estonia train and equip Ukrainian brigade

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur have discussed investments in the Ukrainian defense industry and the training of Ukraine's military during a meeting in Kyiv.

Umerov said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"I expressed my gratitude to Estonia and Minister Pevkur's team for their substantial and consistent support of Ukraine. We discussed further steps to strengthen our cooperation: investments in the Ukrainian defense industry, additional military assistance packages, contributions to the IT coalition, and training for Ukrainian servicemen," Umerov wrote.

According to him, a key topic of this meeting was Estonia's support in implementing President Volodymyr Zelensky's Victory Plan.

"We paid special attention to the preparation of our brigades. I invited Estonia to join in training and equipping them, following the example of other partner countries. We also discussed opportunities to attract additional funding to foster our defense production," Umerov said.

He noted that Estonian partners emphasized their readiness to invest more and work towards accelerating the signing of relevant agreements.

"Minister Pevkur shared information on the status of European initiatives in support of Ukraine," Umerov said.

He thanked EU countries for the progress made in providing the Ukrainian Defense Forces with one million shells by the end of the year and for the decision to allocate part of the new aid tranches from frozen Russian assets to the development of Ukrainian defense production.

Both parties agreed on further contacts at the end of the year to review the results of 2024 and plan the next steps for the next year.

Photo credit: Rustem Umerov / Facebook