President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis at the YES conference: Ukaine’s clearest victory and Russia’s clearest defeat is Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and NATO

Dear President Zelenskyy, distinguished guests, my friends,

Thank you very much for receiving me so warmly today in the great city of Kyiv. 

We are here to exchange ideas on Ukraine’s path to victory. 

Some say that Ukraine has already won and Russia has already lost. And in some aspects, they are right. 

Ukraine has foiled Putin’s dream of a three-day war, making it instead a lengthy and costly endeavour, with half a million Russian soldiers dead and wounded. 

Ukraine meanwhile has proven to everybody, that they have the toughest army in the world and that they are the bravest people in the world.  Ukraine is effectively attacking military related targets deep inside Russia, which is absolutely the right thing to do. 

But unfortunately, this is only half of the picture, and there is still much work to be done for victory. 

Russia still occupies one fifth of Ukraine. Russian missiles are still terrorizing civilians all over Ukraine, depriving them of electricity, water, heating, and good nights of sleep. 

Putin meanwhile is determined to continue with the bloodshed no matter the cost. He still issues outrageous ultimatums and demands, which is not only limited to the territory of Ukraine, but include also the shrinking of NATO to its 1997 borders, and the creation of zones of buffer and influence. 

This is totally unacceptable. We will not let this happen.

I hear the desire of many nations to reach a quick diplomatic settlement and a compromise with Russia. And the hope that a “reset” of relations with Putin’s Russia is possible or even inevitable. 

This is an illusion. Such “resets” with Russia have all failed in the past and have only opened the door for new aggressions. History has shown us that bargaining with dictators is dangerous. Giving in to their demands only fuels their appetite. And in the end, a dictator is the quickest to break their own promises. 

I suggest that we instead follow the words of president Ronald Reagan when he said: “There is no security, no safety in the appeasement of evil.” 

Therefore, the only way to end this war is to force Russia to stop. We need to force defeat on Russia.

This requires from all of us persistence and long-term commitment. We have to continue providing the weapons that Ukraine’s commanders need. 

Yes, no weapon in itself can change the course of the war overnight, but all of these weapons in combination can have a significant positive impact on the battlefield. 

And of course, all restrictions in using these weapons have to be removed. These restrictions are artificial and pointless. They unnecessarily tie the hands of Ukraine in its already uneven fight against the aggressor. These restrictions directly cost human lives every single day. 

Iran and North Korea do not put any restrictions on their use of weapons when they transfer them to Russia. 

So, dear friends, lets tear down these restrictions.

It is unfortunate, that we still hear talk about some ambiguous Russian “red lines” which we think we should not cross. Such talk is self-deception. It hides indecisiveness and fear. And thus emboldens Russia. 

In reality it is Russia that crossed a big fat red line when attacking Ukraine, and the values of the UN Charter. Each day Russia keeps crossing another red line when attacking Ukraine’s hospitals, kindergartens and apartment buildings. 

Russia’s military cooperation with Iran and North Korea also crosses several red lines. So, let’s keep our moral compass intact here. Let’s enforce some of our own red lines. 

Our strength in the West is not only our military technology, but also our ability to cooperate. I welcome all the coalitions and initiatives to deliver Ukraine the needed capabilities and ammunition, as I welcome the discussions among our Allies on shooting down Russian missiles over Ukraine which are coming in the direction of NATO countries. 

And of course, it is a war of attrition, so it is essential that besides military support we also support the economy of Ukraine.

There is a common belief that time is on Russia’s side. I disagree. By 2025 the EU plans to outproduce Russia in terms of artillery ammunitions  and Ukraine’s own defence industry is rapidly increasing its production and innovation as well. 

And despite Russia going into wartime economy, the defence budgets of the Western world are still 12 times greater than Russia. The time is on our side, on Ukraine’s side. We should make good use of it. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The battlefield is not only in Ukraine.

In Estonia we define Ukraine’s victory more broadly: it is the situation when Russia will never again dare to attack a neighbouring country again. This is the victory, that we ultimately must all strive towards.

Because it is by now widely understood, that the results of the war will not only have serious consequences for Ukraine’s independence, but also for the security order of Europe and beyond.

To that end, the isolation of Russia on the world stage deserves our continued attention. Through our common effort Russia was kicked out of the Council of Europe, the United Nations Human rights council, and barred from chairmanship of various other UN formats. This work has to continue.

We have started to use the proceeds of Russian frozen assets for the benefit of Ukraine. And we have launched unprecedented sanction packages. The sanctions of course need to be enforced more powerfully and it is obvious that circumvention must be curtailed. 

But we should not stop here. We have to move towards a full trade embargo, especially with regard to Russia’s fossil fuels. It is a sad fact that since the full-scale invasion, the EU countries have paid Russia 200 billion euros for fossil fuels. 

Over 136,000 Russian war crimes have been documented so far. This work is invaluable and exemplary, but we also need to hold those accountable who started the war in the first place.

If Putin acts like a war criminal, and sounds like a war criminal, then he most certainly is a war criminal. 

And ultimately, the clearest victory for Ukraine and the clearest defeat for Russia is when Ukraine joins EU and NATO. 

Ukraine is worthy of these alliances. The values that the Ukrainian people are defending today, are exactly the same ones, that both alliances were originally built upon. NATO would benefit from such a brave, battle-hardened Ally and Ukrainians would clearly contribute to European security as they are doing already today. For these reasons Estonia’s support to Ukraine’s membership of EU and NATO is unwavering. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Ukraine’s victory and the revalidation of the principles of the UN Charter will be crucial for the future of all nations, big or small, near or far. That is why every nation has to be committed in helping Ukraine win, and that is why Estonia is committed in helping Ukraine win.

Thank you!