Estonian Defense Minister urges partners not to restrict Ukraine's weapon use

He said this before an informal meeting of EU defense ministers, Ukrinform reports.

Pevkur expressed hope that everyone would recognize the importance of allowing Ukrainians to use all the systems, ammunition, and missiles that have been provided to them.

Commenting on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in the Kursk region, the minister praised the courage of the Ukrainians. However, he noted that they are fighting “with only one hand.” Pevkur added that, unfortunately, they are effectively fighting with one hand tied behind their back due to restrictions on using all the weapons they have and the lack of access to all the systems they could use.

He also expressed hope that Hungary, which currently holds the EU Council presidency, would stop blocking payments under this mechanism.

With regard to the use of frozen Russian assets for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, the EU, according to the Estonian politician, is making good progress.

Pevkur also noted that it is widely understood that Russia will intensify pressure in the fall, especially before the second Peace Summit, with the aim of destroying Ukrainian infrastructure. Consequently, Ukraine urgently needs all available resources, including human resources, and therefore its partners should increase the scale of training for soldiers.

The head of the Estonian Defense Ministry admitted that there is still no consensus among the partners on the issue of conducting training on Ukrainian territory, as this also involves risks for the instructors themselves. At the same time, the politician believes that it is quite possible to train small groups of soldiers in Ukraine, in particular, in the field of demining.

For now, Pevkur believes that the most important thing is to signal to Ukrainians that their partners can train as many fighters as they need.

The Estonian minister concluded that they must do everything possible to help Ukrainians win this war.

• Italy maintains its stance on the weapons provided to Ukraine, asserting that its position prohibits Kyiv from using Italian-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory.