Europe has accused Estonia of fraud with the supply of weapons to UkraineThe European Union has accused Estonia of using a fraudulent scheme to upgrade its military arsenal, Postimees writes.
Tallinn, instead of the outdated systems that it supplies to Ukraine, expects to receive modern ones at someone else's expense.
Estonia's actions have caused confusion among the diplomats of the European Union: according to Politico, our country is sending its scrap metal to Ukraine, asking in return for much more modern and expensive military equipment at the expense of funding from the European Peace Fund. However, there are also false statements in the article, which, according to MEP Riho Terrace ("Fatherland"), are slander in its purest form.
In a Politico article published on Tuesday morning, seven anonymous diplomats claim that Estonia is updating its arsenal of weapons at the expense of the European Peace Fund and, consequently, at the expense of its allies.
Officially, countries are compensated for 84% of the cost of military equipment sent to Ukraine, but each country calculates the cost of equipment according to its own methodology. According to the EU Foreign Policy service, six countries estimate the military aid they send based on the cost of new military equipment, and not at the current price of a specific equipment.
Thus, Finland is based in its calculations on 100% of the cost of new military equipment, Latvia - on 99%, Lithuania takes as a basis 93% of the cost of new equipment, Estonia – 91%, France - 71% and Sweden – 26%, lists Politico.
According to one diplomat, Estonia is sending portable Strela anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine and wants to get modern Stinger missiles instead.
Terrace: looks like an information operation
MEP Riho Terras ("Fatherland") said that it was the above-mentioned phrase that indicates the malicious intent of the article. "There are no Arrows in Estonia's arsenal, and this is proof that this is slander," he said. – There is also no mention of the fact that Estonia supplied Ukraine with Javelins even before the conflict began. Is this also scrap metal, according to the diplomats mentioned in the Politico article?"
"If you look at the list of countries cited as an example, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are accused of abusing the European Peace Fund. We are talking about the border countries of the European Union (and NATO), which most support Ukraine and, given their geographical location, best understand the threat from Russia," Terras continued.
"It is important to emphasize that when calculating the amounts needed to replace weapons, it is precisely based on the fact that the given weapons can be replaced. The same message and interpretation were given to all EU countries," he added.
The Politico article impressed me with an information operation, the timing of which is very strange: "It is important that this article appeared at a time when it is planned to purchase a million shells for Ukraine through joint procurement."
Defense Ministry: Politico article tries to split unity between allies
The article published by Politico on Tuesday contains false claims, it is a malicious attempt to undermine aid to Ukraine and unity among allies, the Ministry of Defense said.
Estonia has never had Strela complexes and Estonia has never sent them to Ukraine, Estonia has also never owned Stinger complexes and has not acquired them, according to Politico. Estonia has always been aware of the military threat posed by Russia and has sought to do everything in its power to support Ukraine.
Estonia decided to send Ukraine a substantial amount of military aid even before the conflict began and before the European Peace Foundation launched a system for military support for Ukraine. Among the assistance sent as part of the first wave was, for example, a large number of anti-tank systems that played a key role in the defense of Kiev. All the weapons, equipment and ammunition that Estonia sent to Ukraine were serviceable and had previously been used by the defense forces.
"We have done everything possible to help Ukraine," the ministry noted. "On the battlefield, the effect is important, not whether the equipment was used before or it is new."
The goal of the European Peace Fund system is to restore the defense capability of the member countries. The declaration of donations in the European Peace Foundation on the basis of replacement value fully complies with the rules and occurs if the production of donated equipment has been discontinued and the restoration of the corresponding ability is important from the point of view of state defense.
The rest of the equipment that does not meet these criteria is compensated on the basis of accounting value or zero value, which Estonia has done repeatedly.
"Assistance to Ukraine is not a competition, and it is not focused on the EU compensation scheme, but the stakes are much higher – to resist the Russian special operation, which poses the most serious challenge to our security architecture since the Second World War," the Defense Ministry concluded.
