Estonian Defense Minister, Visiting Iowa, Calls for U.S. Aid to Ukraine

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur visited the Iowa Capitol on Monday and spoke with Gov. Kim Reynolds about Iowa and Estonia’s economic ties and about the need for continued U.S. support for Ukraine.

Pevkur kicked off his trip through the Midwest in Des Moines, stopping at Waveland Cafe before meeting with Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Sen. Annette Sweeney, R-Alden, at the Statehouse. He planned to speak at Midwestern universities, including Grinnell College in Iowa and Augustana College and Northwestern University in Illinois, in addition to touring in Lewis Machine & Tool Defense in the Quad-Cities area.

LMT Defense moved in 2019 from Milan, Illinois, to Eldridge, Iowa, where the gun manufacturer produced more than 16,000 rifles for the Estonian military as part of a $25 million contract. Pevkur said he planned to visit the Eldridge facility on Tuesday to see the work and capabilities of the factory as well as look at possibilities for “future collaboration” with the Iowa-based weapons manufacturer.

Pevkur said contracting with LMT Defense is only one of the ways Iowa and Estonia are economically connected. Meeting with Reynolds and Iowa lawmakers, he talked about the firearms trade, similarities in agriculture commerce, as well as ways that Iowa could follow Estonian government practices, like bringing more public services online for easier access.

“It was a good opportunity to see what we can do more (together) in the future,” Pevkur said.

Another purpose behind his visit to the U.S. was advocating for American support for Ukraine in their war against Russian invasion. Pevkur said he spoke to Reynolds about the Ukraine-Russia conflict and asked her to advocate for federal lawmakers to approve continuing financial and defense support to the Eastern European country.

Estonia is roughly 1,000 miles north of Ukraine, with both countries having an eastern border with Russia. Despite the distance, Pevkur said Estonia is “heavily” impacted by the Ukrainian war and the threat it represents for other Baltic and former Eastern Bloc states, fearing future aggression from Russia.

Pevkur said that in 2014, Estonia was spending 2% of its national budget on defense, but the amount has increased to between 3.2% and 3.4% this year — in addition to sending between 1.4% and 1.5% of the nation’s GDP per capita on military aid to Ukraine. In comparison to other countries’ support for Ukraine relative to their national economy, Estonia is spending much more than other countries.

In part, he said, this is because of the shared history Estonia has with Ukraine — but he said other countries, like the U.S., need to step up aid for Ukraine’s fight and support the country’s defense against Russia, a country that does not share American and Estonian values on issues like freedom of speech, he said.

“We share the same history with Ukraine,” Pevkur said. “We know why it is important to have Ukraine, and we know what that means to (resist) occupations. And we want to give also the message that small country can fight with the big one, if there are supporters, because more than 100 years back, Estonia won our own independence against (the) Russian Army. So that shows that, you know, you don’t have to be scared.”

Reynolds sent tactical gear and food assistance to Ukraine in 2022, shortly after Russia launched its military invasion into the country. But Pevkur said his focus with politicians was asking them to support moving forward the $95 billion emergency spending package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in U.S. Congress as quickly as possible.

The legislation would provide Ukraine with $60 billion in assistance, largely going to the U.S. Departments of Defense and State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The package passed the U.S. Senate in February with bipartisan support — but with many Republican opponents criticizing the focus on spending in conflicts abroad instead of investing the money in U.S. defense and programs. House Speaker Mike Johnson has not yet brought the bill to the floor for a vote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Sunday meeting with a fundraising group that “if the Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” according to CNN.

©Copyright 2024, Iowa Capital Dispatch. Published under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read more at iowacapitaldispatch.com.