European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Estonia this Friday, the day marking the first year of war in Ukraine, accompanied by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The trip, confirmed by Brussels, also marks the declaration of independence of Estonia, a former republic of the former Soviet Union.
In Tallinn, von der Leyen, Stoltenberg and Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas hold a joint press conference.
Last January, Russia ordered the expulsion of Estonia’s ambassador to Moscow and reduced relations with Tallinn to the level of chargé d’affaires, pointing to Estonia’s “total Russophobia”.
The move followed the expulsion in early January of 21 Russian diplomats and other staff from the embassy of the Russian Federation in Tallinn.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion has so far led to the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 8 million to European countries – according to the latest UN data.
At the moment, at least 17.7 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and shelter.
The Russian invasion – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and Russia political and economic sanctions.
The UN has confirmed that more than 7,000 civilians have been killed and more than 11,000 injured since the start of the war, underlining that these numbers are well below the true figures.
Source: DN
