Russia has filed an arrest order for Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, but she has scoffed at the request, claiming it is an effort to intimidate her in the wake of rumors that she will be nominated for a high EU position.
Before joining the EU and NATO, Moscow dominated Estonia. Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost two years ago, Kallas has been one of Moscow’s most outspoken opponents, and the country has supported Kyiv.
On the 13th of February, Russian authorities put her and many other Baltic lawmakers on a wanted list for the destruction of monuments dating back to the Soviet period.
There is talk in Brussels that after the upcoming EU parliamentary elections in June, Kallas may assume a prominent position, perhaps as head of foreign policy, due to her prominent role in urging the EU to step up its assistance for Ukraine.
She also claimed that the aggressive behavior she was experiencing from Russia was fueled in part by rumors.
The 27 member states of the European Union have agreed to transfer 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Kyiv by March of this year after discussions started last year by Estonia to increase European armaments’ supply to Ukraine.
Half of the goal will likely be unmet by the bloc.
At Saturday’s global security conference, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy encouraged partners to address the weapon shortfall that is giving Russian troops an advantage on the battlefield.
According to Czech President Petr Pavel, his nation has found hundreds of thousands of rounds that might be procured from outside the bloc, but they want financial support to make this happen.
Due to export licenses and certain members’ unwillingness to purchase outside of Europe, it is difficult to say how much support other EU members would have for such a move.
Kallas has proposed special EU bonds to pay for increased defense expenditure, a plan that would need the support of countries like Germany, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries, who have a history of being skeptical about EU joint borrowing.
