From critical infrastructure repairs in Zhytomyr Oblast to a recent delivery of Mistral MANPADS that arrived less than a month ago, since the beginning of the Kremlin-ordered full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia has continuously stepped up to aid the Ukrainian people in their fight for liberty and liberation against the Russian invaders.

In addition to providing aid to Ukraine, which by some accounts is the highest in percentage of national GDP, the Estonian government has already announced a plan to allocate .25% of its annual Gross Domestic Product to support Ukraine’s efforts at victory. With this in mind, along with the recent appointment of the now former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the head diplomat for the EU’s Foreign Policy, Ukrinform sat down during the week of the NATO summit in Washington D.C. for an exclusive interview with the Estonian Ambassador to the United States, Kristjan Prikk.

In a free-wheeling conversation with Ukrinform that touched on a diverse array of topics, from Ukraine’s fight against Russian imperialism and genocide to the role of Estonia in NATO and what lies ahead for Europe, Ambassador Prikk defended democracy, explained Putin's threat to the world, and shed light on the Moscow regimes' flaunting of international norms.

On why Estonians feel a connection to what Ukrainians face against Russia:

“Someone being sent to Siberia, someone coming back from the Soviet Gulag, someone’s family member being shot and killed. The Soviet period is very personal. Every Estonian family has these stories about family members being shot, killed, deported, made to flee to the west from Soviet Occupation.”

On Russia posing a threat to Europe outside of Ukraine:

“Yes, I absolutely feel that unless aggression as the tool of statecraft is completely discredited unless Russia is defeated in Ukraine, we are only going to see this tragedy in other parts of Europe and against other parts of Europe. This is about defeating the imperial, colonial wars of aggression.”

On the mutual history between Estonia and Ukraine:

“During the Paris Peace Conference after the First World War, Estonian and Ukrainian delegations were working together to gain recognition for our respective independence.”

On the importance of trade with Ukraine:

“Ukraine was the first country that we concluded the zero to zero free trade agreement. We were interested in a big market close to us, but we also had a very clear understanding that a free, prosperous, democratic Ukraine is important to the existence of other free, prosperous, democratic countries in our part of the world.

On the idea of Estonia as a post-Soviet nation:

“I feel really offended when I hear this term being used when someone writes or speaks about Estonia. First, we never became part of the Soviet Union voluntarily; this was a cruel and illegal annexation and occupation. Second, this cruel, illegal occupation and annexation ended 33 years ago. The more Estonia is ranked among the top countries in areas such as rule of law, freedom of the press, and ease of access for business, the more this term sounds utterly stupid and irrelevant.”

On the benefits of NATO membership for Estonia:

“The benefits that came with NATO are plentiful, but mostly, it is about a heightened sense of security, the sense of the future that people are not constantly thinking about whether there will be a tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

On Putin’s fear of NATO:

“NATO is this ultimate forum for discussing and charting the future of security in Europe, and this is what I believe angers Putin, the war criminal. There is this organization where we’re going to stick together and where they can decide the future by themselves, among themselves.”

On Russia’s ultimate goal for Ukraine:

“The statements that people connected to the Russian regime, including Putin, and the statements they have released throughout this war, including over recent days and weeks, indicate they don’t have any intention to stop short of annihilation of Ukraine’s identity.”

On the fear of escalation:

“He (Putin) is trying to scare the world. The whole issue of escalation leaves me puzzled often because NATO has been the world champion in deterrence for the past 75 years. When it comes to vertical escalation, there is very little where they can go. They (the Russian Federation) have been doing the kinds of things that many believed would never happen again in history. They use weapons to attack civilian targets and the most vulnerable. The number of medical facilities, hospitals, and schools that have been deliberately attacked in Ukraine is in the hundreds.”

On Russian use of chemical weapons against Ukraine:

“They certainly have used chemical agents. They have used different weapons considered kind of illegal, and of using weapons that most countries don’t use these days.”

On the potential of Russia in using nuclear weapons:

“I don’t think Russia has anything to win either on the battlefield or politically from using tactical nuclear weapons. They only have a lot to lose.”

On the global impact of Ukraine’s fight for liberation:

“This is not just about Ukraine or just about the future of Ukraine; it’s about the future of wider security in Europe and, by extension, the rules that came globally. If Putin comes away with the notion that the aggression actually paid off, if this is the kind of conclusion, then this will not just be a problem for Ukraine. Unfortunately, this will not only be a problem for the countries that border Russia. This will be a problem for every country, which, at one point, may have to face the imperial instincts of its neighbor. This is a problem for everyone, not just Ukraine, not only Estonia, but every country in the world. If Russian is not taught a lesson, who on earth would think that Russia then stop there and won’t start another round of violation of agreements and another round of atrocities, in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe or the world for that matter?

On the use of the Russian language outside of Russia:

“The language itself is not usually the problem. What is the problem is if the language is used as a conduit for imperial propaganda. If it is used to draft the next generation of people who then get immersed in the Russian imperial view while degrading the role and importance of other nations and languages and culture. The use of subversion and the spread of hateful imperial propaganda behind the teaching of the (Russian) language should not be something we tolerate in the rest of the world.

*Interviews have been modified for length and clarity.

Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, Armed Forces of Ukraine

The author's opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Ukrinform's editorial board.