Estonia reportedly renewed its own arsenal at the EU’s expense while sending old stocks to Kiev’s forces, according to the newspaper
A number of EU diplomats are growing concerned that some member states may have tapped the European Peace Facility (EPF), which is intended to partially reimburse countries that have sent military aid to Ukraine, Politico reported Tuesday.
The outlet’s Playbook Project claims it spoke to seven EU diplomats and officials, who chose to remain anonymous to discuss classified information. According to them, one country in particular – Estonia – has been accused of using the fund to upgrade its own military arsenal at the expense of its EU neighbors while sending its old stocks to Ukraine.
Under the EPF rules, all EU states are set to receive the same rate of reimbursement for what they spend on Ukraine – around 84% of the total price. But, as Politico noted, there are no agreed-upon rules for how countries calculate the price of the equipment they send to Kiev.
According to declassified data from the EU’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Defense (EEAS) obtained by Playbook, six countries – Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, France and Sweden – are believed to have calculated their compensation claims based on the purchase price of new material rather than the value of it they sent to Ukraine.
Estonia topped the list in absolute terms, Politico claims, citing an EEAS overview. The country reportedly received a refund of 134 million euros after officially declaring that it spent over 160 million euros on donations to Ukraine.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is now accused of “sanctioning behaviour” after she publicly led calls in the EU for increased military aid to Ukraine, only to later use the EPF to “generously” support her own army, according to the paper.
“They are sending their scraps to Ukraine and buying brand new material for themselves, financed with EU money,” an EU diplomat told Politico.
According to the diplomats, one example of how Estonia manipulated the system was to send old Soviet-made Strela surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine but then refer to the price of a modern Stinger missile in the replacement claim. “It’s also why Estonia’s military support appears to be so much higher per capita than other countries’ in the statistics that everyone cites,” noted one diplomat.
Estonian officials have rejected the claims in Politico’s report, with Defense Ministry Secretary General Kusti Salm dismissing them as “malicious slander” aimed at curbing aid to Ukraine.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk