Estonia is planning to send a "substantial number" of locomotives to Ukraine to help replace those destroyed by Russia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) has said.
Tsahkna held a telephone call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha last week and discussed the current situation in Ukraine, Russia's attacks, and the need for assistance this upcoming winter.
He said Ukraine must receive even "more extensive" practical assistance in the coming months.
"As Russia has targeted critical infrastructure, including the transport network, and has already destroyed or damaged 340 railway carriages this year, we are working to send a substantial number of locomotives to Ukraine. This will help keep the country's transport links operational even under the most difficult conditions," Tsahkna said.
No additional details were given in the press release.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told ERR's Russian portal on Thursday over 60 locomotives have been identified that could potentially be sent to Ukraine.
The ministry said a Ukrainian Railways expert group visited Estonia earlier this month to assess how the locomotives meet the needs of the Ukrainian railway. The Estonian side is awaiting the experts' response, after which it will continue to seek funding through international mechanisms.
Estonia will also provide Ukraine with an additional €10 million through NATO's PURL initiative, bringing the country's total contribution to €30 million.
Tsahkna also outlined the current situation in Ukraine: "In recent weeks, drone and missile attacks, along with power cuts affecting hundreds of thousands of people, have become part of everyday life in Ukraine. The number of civilian casualties rose by 85 percent in September, and more than 2,000 energy infrastructure facilities have been attacked since July. The conditions for serious peace negotiations will not exist until Russia changes its behaviour."
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