Estonian and U.S. Support to Ukraine

While the situation in Ukraine, the security situation along NATO’s borders with Russia, and aid offered to the Ukrainian government by Estonia, the United States, and other nations continue to change on a daily basis, the Estonian American National Council is doing its best to track the major developments relevant to Estonia.  EANC is also engaging in advocacy for U.S. support to Ukrainian and Estonian security, showing up at events to amplify the messages its Ukrainian colleagues are promoting against the Kremlin’s actions, and inviting Estonian Americans to do the same in their local communities.

Local DC Baltic supporters of Ukraine at Lincoln Memorial rally on February 20, including Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk (far right) and EANC’s Karin Shuey (holding Estonian flag).

In terms of military forces and hardware, Estonia announced last month that it would send a portion of its Javelin anti-armor missile inventory to Ukraine, while Latvia and Lithuania will send Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.  EANC has held meetings with relevant Congressional offices to make sure they’re aware of the contributions by the Baltic nations and to request increases to Baltic security funding before it is finalized in the omnibus Defense Appropriations bill to allow the three nations to rebuild their weapons stocks. The bill is expected to pass by mid-March and our constituents are also urged to contact Congress to call for increases in U.S. support to Baltic security.

Baltic security did get a boost on February 22 during President Biden’s update on Russia and Ukraine.  He announced that he had authorized the “additional movement of forces and equipment already stationed in Europe to strengthen our Baltic allies.”  Reuters later reported that the movement would include 800 infantry troops and up to eight F-35 fighter jets to locations along NATO’s eastern borders and 32 Apache attack helicopters to the Baltic region and Poland (reuters.com for 2/22/2022)

From left: EANC President Marju Rink-Abel, Foreign Minister Liimets, and EANC Washington, DC Director Karin Shuey at the Estonian Embassy’s reception for the visiting minister.

Foreign Minster Eva-Maria Liimets visited Washington, DC on February 16 and 17 to speak with her counterpart and Members of Congress about Estonia’s and Ukraine’s security.  She met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken on February 16 and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) on February 17.  She was featured in a fireside chat with the Center for a New American Security on February 16 (www.cnas.org/events for February 16), where topics discussed included the importance of continued U.S. leadership in the West’s response to the situation, the difficulties of assessing the mindset of Russian citizens, regional cooperation with Nordic and Baltic neighbors, and the continued desire of Estonia for a more robust U.S. presence in the region, among other issues. 

In recent weeks, several Estonian officials have spoken out in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty in the U.S. media, in think tank events, and in person with U.S. officials.  Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Foreign Minister Liimets, Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee member Eerik Niiles-Kross, and former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves are among the notable Estonians who have been interviewed by U.S. news outlets or taken part in panel discussions on their perspectives as the situation in Ukraine has evolved.  On March 1, the Center for European Policy Analysis will host the Ambassadors of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the U.S. for a discussion on How the Baltic States Are Supporting Ukraine.  Registration is at cepa.org/event/how-the-baltic-states-are-supporting-ukraine.

It should be clear that the messages shared by Estonian government representatives were consistently in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and called out the Kremlin’s ill-founded basis for asserting its claims to authority over the nation.  The situation is changing daily and this is just a snapshot of some of the highlights as of February 22.  EANC will continue to monitor the news and developments and report items of interest. 

Please also see:

EANC Statement on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine and Baltic Legislation Update

The time is still ripe for constituent action on legislation to support Ukraine and Baltic security.  Several developments have occurred since the Estonian American National Council’s last call to action for the region.

The Senate is working on a new bipartisan bill to provide military support to Ukraine and impose sanctions on Russia for its aggression toward Ukraine.  This new compromise bill is intended to reconcile partisan differences in two earlier bills that did not move forward in the legislative process.  The House has also been working on a comprehensive Ukraine assistance bill, which would parallel efforts in the Senate.  These bills would provide a critical tool in giving substance to U.S. diplomacy.

On the Baltic front, readers are invited to contact their Senators and Representatives regarding the Baltic Security Initiative.  This new category of defense funding for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania was introduced last summer by House Baltic Caucus co-chairs Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Don Bacon (R-NE) to provide robust U.S. military assistance and cooperation to deter Russia and protect U.S. and NATO national security interests.  The amount they requested was $175 million, which was reduced to $150 million during the defense authorization process.  Friends of the Baltic nations in Congress are now advocating to restore the original level of funding in light of the current security situation as the defense appropriations bill remains under consideration.  It is worth noting that Estonia, along with Latvia and Lithuania, is sending military supplies to Ukraine that were purchased with its own security in mind.  Now that Estonia’s stocks are going to support Ukraine’s urgent need, Estonia will need to replenish its inventory.  The deployment of six U.S. F-15 fighter jets to Ämari Air Base is a positive sign and provides momentum for further deterrence measures.

Finally, Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus co-chairs Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced on February 1 a bipartisan resolution celebrating the centennial of U.S.-Baltic diplomatic relations.  According to the press release at grassley.senate.gov/news, “The resolution also reaffirms the United States’ commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) amid increasing Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.” Original co-sponsors were Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Murphy (D-CT) John Boozman (R-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Thom Tillis (R-NC),Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).  A big thank you is in order to all of them.

Constituent calls to Members of Congress asking support for these topics are welcome and would go a long way toward reinforcing the importance of bolstering security in the region.  EANC, as part of the Central and East European Coalition, has taken part in ten calls with Senate offices just in the last two weeks, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Majority and Minority staff.  Even so, nothing holds more power with lawmakers than hearing directly from their voters about issues that are important to them.  Please consider contacting your Senators and Representative, and if you do, please send an email to EANC’s Washington, DC Director, Karin Shuey, at KarinShueyEANC@gmail.com so she can follow up with those offices.