Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday met with the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic states in Estonia, where he attended the summit of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries as a guest.
In the capital Tallinn, Zelensky also held bilateral meetings with some of the prime ministers and with Estonian President Alar Karis. The NB8 group of nations includes Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“We will discuss how we can strengthen Ukraine’s defence capabilities, increase pressure on Russia, and make Europe as a whole safer,” said the host, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, ahead of the one-day talks in the Baltic state, which borders Russia.
The Nordic and Baltic states are among the strongest supporters of Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than four years.
According to the Estonian State Chancellery, the eight countries - five of which border Russia - have collectively provided more than €42 billion ($48.6 billion) in aid to date. Relative to population size, this represents the world’s highest per-capita contribution.
Another topic of discussion is likely to be the prevention of incidents involving incoming drones. In the course of the war in Ukraine, misdirected Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered the airspace of the Baltic countries and Finland, and some have crashed. Kiev had used them to attack targets in north-western Russia.
Estonia was the first country in the Baltics where NATO fighter jets shot down an intruding drone; on Monday, an unmanned aerial vehicle was also shot down over Latvia. There was no major damage or injuries. However, the incidents sparked political discussions and led to tensions with Russia.
