Estonia proposes a financing plan for Ukraine worth more than €100 billion

This was stated by Kusti Salm, Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, in an interview with Euractiv.

According to the Estonian Ministry of Defense, to win the war, Ukraine needs its Western allies to invest 0.25% of their GDP in military assistance to the country. If more than 50 countries allied with Ukraine in the Ramstein group allocated this percentage to aid, it would amount to more than 120 billion euros a year.

“With this money, by 2025, Ukraine will reach a point where it will be able to exhaust Russia,” Salm said.

However, even if this amount is allocated now, the results of such assistance will be seen only in a year. According to Salm, it will take another nine months or so to provide the supplies necessary for Ukraine to reach this level of depletion.

Salm added that Estonia's calculations do not include Ukraine's spending, Western military exercises, civilian aid, etc. He also noted that Western allies are now spending half the amount of Russia's spending on the war.

Kusti Salm emphasized that for Estonians, the allocation of 0.25% of GDP to Ukraine is “affordable”. The official argues that in fact, Western allies do not need that much for Ukraine to win the war, even without the US participation.

“Several countries have said that would be unattainable, and that's where the Eurobond discussion comes in, which has an element of solidarity,” he said.

Salm suggested that part of this amount could be covered by Eurobonds — the European Commission could raise funds from financial markets and use a group of EU member states as a guarantee.

The European Commission has already used Eurobonds to finance the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past few months, this idea has been supported by several other EU countries, including Belgium, France, and European Council President Charles Michel. According to Euractiv, it has also gained support in Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and other countries.