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☆ European countries who put curbs on Huawei 5G equipment
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The European Union's industry chief Thierry Breton in June urged more EU countries to join the efforts to curb or block Huawei and ZTE equipment from the bloc's 5G telecoms networks. FRANCEFrench authorities in 2020 told telecoms operators planning to buy Huawei 5G equipment that they would not be able to renew licences for the gear once they expire, effectively phasing Huawei out of mobile networks. ITALYWhile Italy has not outright banned Huawei equipment, it prevented telecoms group Fastweb in 2020 from signing a deal for Huawei to supply equipment for its 5G network. LATVIALatvia and the U.S. signed an agreement in 2020 on 5G security aimed at limiting the operations of Chinese companies. SWEDENSweden in 2020 banned telecoms equipment from Huawei and ZTE in its 5G network.

Persons: China's, Thierry Breton, Tristan Veyet, Antonis Pothitos, Laura Lenkiewicz, Milla Nissi, Jan Harvey Organizations: China's Huawei, Huawei, DENMARK Danish, FRANCE French, ZTE, U.S, LITHUANIA Lithuania's, Thomson Locations: Germany, European, BRITAIN Britain, ESTONIA, DENMARK, FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, Italy, LATVIA Latvia, LITHUANIA, PORTUGAL, ROMANIA, U.S, China, SWEDEN Sweden

☆ Ukraine is firing up to 7,000 rounds a day, a fraction of the 60,000 shells Russia was firing earlier this year: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine lags far behind Russia in its use and production of artillery shells, according to CNN. Russia fired 60,000 shells a day earlier this year, while Ukraine now fires about 7,000, per CNN. The Ukrainian military wants to fire more than 10,000 rounds a day, according to CNN, which would still remain far below Russia's artillery efforts. AdvertisementAdvertisementAs of July, the US had committed to sending more than two million artillery rounds to Ukraine, while the EU has approved plans to send a quarter of a million rounds. However, it remains unclear how fast European weapon manufacturers can catch up with Russia's production rates.

Persons: Oleksandra Ustinova, Armin Papperfer, Papperfer, Bill LaPlante, Douglas Bush, Bush, Ukraine's Organizations: CNN, Artillery, Service, Rheinmetall, EU, New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Estonian, Europe, Scandinavian

☆ Incoming NATO member Sweden has a military built for 'one thing, and one thing only: fighting Russia,' says expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sweden is set to join NATO, a blow to Putin who considers the military alliance a threat to Russia. Sweden's military is built for one thing: fighting Russia, expert Robert Clark wrote in The Telegraph. Robert Clark, the director of defense and security for UK think tank Civitas and a British veteran, said that Sweden's "military is built for one thing, and one thing only: fighting Russia." He outlined the ways that Sweden's military being part of NATO is likely bad news for Russia. And with Sweden in NATO, every country in the Arctic would be in the alliance apart from Russia, he added.

Persons: Putin, Robert Clark, Vladimir Putin, —, Clark, Carl Bildt, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: NATO, The, Service, Sweden —, Google, Financial Times Locations: Sweden, Russia, The Telegraph, Wall, Silicon, British, NATO, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, Northern Europe, Baltic, Russian, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Swedish, Hungary

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Wagner forces will no longer fight in Ukraine; Prigozhin retreat deal terms could still be under discussion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Karen Gilchrist Ruxandra Iordache | Karen Gilchrist | Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

NATO member states must agree on a clear route for Ukraine's membership of the military alliance when they meet at a summit next month, Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Thursday. "The only security guarantee that really works, and the cheapest security guarantee that really works is NATO membership," Kallas told reporters ahead of a summit with other European Union government leaders in Brussels. Speaking at the same summit earlier Thursday, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that the EU still needed to decide what further security assurances it wishes to provide to Ukraine. We will have to discuss how far it goes, and if it would be lethal or non-lethal support. And we have to take into account that several EU countries are not a member of NATO," Rutte said.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, Mark Rutte, Rutte, — Karen Gilchrist Organizations: Estonia's, NATO, European Union, Dutch, EU Locations: Brussels, Ukraine

☆ Estonia's Bolt, Starship in food delivery robot deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, June 21 (Reuters) - Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt on Wednesday said it has signed a partnership with robotics firm Starship Technologies aiming to have thousands of robots delivering food across multiple countries, starting this year. With this partnership, Starship will gain access to Bolt's more than 100 million customers in over 45 countries and 500 cities. Bolt expects delivery using robots to ultimately increase its profitability per delivery. Former Skype co-founders launched Starship in 2014 and started testing their self-driving delivery robots in London. Since then its six-wheel robots have been operational in more than 50 service areas for last-mile delivery of food, groceries, and small packages.

Persons: Supantha Mukherjee, Jason Neely Organizations: Technologies, Skype, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Estonia, London, Stockholm

☆ Kontaveit to retire after Wimbledon due to back injury
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kontaveit cut her 2022 season short in October and took another two-month break in February to focus on the issue. "I am ready for new challenges after my last effort as a professional tennis player - to enjoy the game and compete as hard as I can at Wimbledon." Kontaveit, now ranked 79th in the world, exited the Australian Open in the second round and has not played since a first-round defeat at the French Open in May. A quarter-final run at Melbourne Park in 2020 is her best Grand Slam result to date. Kontaveit won four titles and reached the WTA Finals in a breakthrough 2021 season and was ranked world number two last September at the U.S. Open, where she lost to Serena Williams in the second round.

Persons: Kontaveit, Poland's Magda Linette REUTERS, Hannah Mckay, Serena Williams, Hritika Sharma, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Melbourne, Wimbledon, Melbourne Park, WTA, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia, Instagram, Hyderabad

TALLINN, June 20 (Reuters) - Estonia's parliament approved on Tuesday a law to legalise same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. Same-sex marriage is legal in much of western Europe but not in central European countries which were once under communist rule and members of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact alliance but now members of NATO and, largely, the EU. In the largely secular Baltic country of 1.3 million, 53% of the population supported same-sex marriage in a 2023 poll by the Centre for Human Rights. Same-sex marriage is opposed by the ethnic-Russian minority, which constitutes a quarter of the country, with only 40% of them supporting it. Latvia and Lithuania, the other two Baltic countries which were previously annexed by the Soviet Union, have same-sex partnership bills stuck in their parliaments.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Kallas, Tomas Jermalavicius, Janis Laizans, Terje Solsvik, Ed Osmond Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Centre for Human Rights, Gay, International Centre for Defence, Security, Andrius Sytas, Thomson Locations: TALLINN, Europe, Moscow, Warsaw, EU, Baltic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Soviet Union, Tallinn, Andrius, Vilnius

A Russian-installed official said on Sunday that Ukraine had taken control of the village, Piatykhatky, in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces had not only retaken Piatykhatky but had advanced by up to seven km (4.3 miles) into Russian lines in two weeks, capturing 113 square km (44 square miles) of land. The reported capture of the villages reflects incremental gains for Ukraine that highlight the challenge of breaking through lines Moscow has spent months strengthening. Russia says it invaded Ukraine to "denazify" it, an argument Ukraine and its Western allies call a pretext for a land grab. While Ukraine conducts what Western governments and analysts say are probing attacks to test Russian forces, officials from two NATO member states said Moscow is redeploying some of its forces as it seeks to predict where Ukraine will strike.

Persons: Ukraine Zelenskiy, Hanna Maliar, Piatykhatky, Maliar, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Vladimir Rogov, Margo Grosberg, Michael Kofman, Denise Brown, Dan Peleschuk, Lidia Kelly, Wendell Roelf, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, NATO, Russia, Western, Estonian Defense Forces, Twitter, Russia's Defence Ministry, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, French, KYIV, Russian, Piatykhatky, Moscow, Ukrainian, Novodonetske, Donetsk, Sweden, Estonian, Dnipro, Estonia, U.S, Great Salt, Kherson region, Kyiv, West

WASHINGTON, June 14 (Reuters) - Estonian authorities are investigating the theft of cryptocurrency from users of the country's Atomic Wallet service, a police spokesperson said Wednesday. More than $100 million in digital assets were stolen from thousands of users of cryptocurrency service Atomic Wallet by a gang of allegedly North Korean hackers known as "Lazarus," cryptocurrency analytics firm Elliptic said Tuesday. A spokesperson for Estonia's National Criminal Police said in an email that authorities had been investigating the theft since last week but would not be drawn on the details. Kaarel Kallas said the investigation was still in its early stages "and at the moment we cannot comment on the origins of the attacks." The FBI, which has in the past investigated Lazarus-linked hacks, declined comment.

Persons: Lazarus, Kaarel Kallas, Raphael Satter, Mark Potter Organizations: National Criminal Police, FBI, Thomson Locations: Tallinn

☆ Estonia and Latvia look to purchase mid-range air defence from Germany
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VILNIUS, May 21 (Reuters) - European Union and NATO members Estonia and Latvia will begin negotiations with Germany's Diehl Defence for the purchase of a medium-range air defence system, Estonia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday. The cost of the Iris-T SLM air defence system and additional capabilities such as infrastructure, personnel, training, equipment, will be determined at the negotiations, which could be concluded during the summer, it added. “Our objective is to ensure operational medium-range air defence capabilities for Estonia by 2025, which means that the first systems should arrive in 2024,” Estonia's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said. The purchase will be led by Estonia Centre for Defence Investment. Last October, Estonia and Latvia were among 14 European NATO partners to sign a letter of intent to jointly procure air defence systems as Russia's war in Ukraine highlighted shortages.

☆ Eyeball to eyeball: Estonia stares down Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Jill Dougherty | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

It sits high on the western bank of the Narva River, its 13th-century castle proudly flying the blue, black and white flag of Estonia. We think we know roughly what makes them tick.”Like parts of Ukraine, Estonia was illegally annexed and occupied by the Soviet Union. Estonians at the conference were adamant: Unless Russia is utterly defeated in Ukraine, there is no reason to expect Putin will change his strategic objective. Jill Dougherty/CNNSeveral Russians at the conference said they feel personally responsible for the horrors Russia is unleashing on Ukraine. What’s more, Vladimir Putin is winning support for the war from so-called “swing states” and nations in the Global South.

☆ China walks back ambassador's claim that ex-Soviet states aren't real countries, a position that played strongly into Putin's hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's foreign ministry walked back ambassador's comments dismissing ex-Soviet states' sovereignty. Other former Soviet Union countries include Ukraine and Moldova, as well as Central Asian countries that Russia has retained closer ties to. And Lu's comments seemed to suggest that China's foreign policy was inching closer to that of Russia. The Baltic countries have already questioned China's efforts to play peacemaker in Ukraine, and Lu's comments appear to have made them even more concerned. Estonia's foreign minister said Lu's comments were "false and a misinterpretation of history," and Latvia's foreign minister called them "completely unacceptable."

☆ Front-line NATO allies worry they could be next after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and are getting ready for a fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

These countries along the military alliance's front line are now scrambling to make sure they're protected should the Russian military ever come knocking. "There is an imminent need of a stronger NATO presence in our region," Estonia's Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said. For nearly 14 months, the Russian military has been bogged down by its grinding war in Ukraine. More boots on the groundSome leaders in the Baltic countries have said that they ultimately want to host more NATO troops, including permanent brigades, in the years to come. So as the threat landscape continues to shift, the Baltic defense has adapted along with it, Townsend said.

☆ How Ukraine's closest allies turned the tide on sending advanced tanks, and could do the same for military jets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Their success, an expert told Insider, shows how Europe's balance of power has shifted eastwards since Russia's invasion in February 2022. Sergei Grits/APEstonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Insider that Ukraine's allies had been "too slow" when deciding to send weapons to Ukraine. AP Photo/Martin Meissner, FileReinsalu, Estonia's foreign minister, told Insider that he had repeatedly engaged with his German counterpart about the decision. Kallas and Šimonytė, the two prime ministers, both told Insider that they support Ukraine getting military jets. "Ordinarily, on less critical matters, peer pressure happens but the public sees very little of it or none of it," he told Insider.

☆ Estonia says China's peace plan to end Ukraine's war is 'extremely unfair'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowChina's peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine is "extremely unfair," since the plan doesn't respect the territorial integrity of the country, said the permanent secretary of Estonia's Ministry of Defense. Beijing issued a 12-point peace plan in February. But China's plan hasn't been fair to Ukraine's people, he said. "That is something I would say [is] extremely unfair to Ukrainian people who have been fighting for their freedom." No breakthrough at Xi-Putin meetingChinese President Xi Jinping's three-day visit to Russia concluded on Wednesday.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Russia attacks along Ukraine front
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A destroyed Russian tank remains on the side of the road near the frontline town of Kreminna, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Luhansk region, Ukraine March 24, 2023. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces had destroyed a hangar housing drones belonging to Ukraine's armed forces in the southwestern Odesa region of the country. DIPLOMACY* Russia's parliament speaker proposed banning the activities of the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crimes. * Democratic and Republican U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to share information with the ICC as it pursues war crimes charges against Putin. * U.S. President Joe Biden, appearing in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said he would continue to pressure Putin and help Ukraine.

☆ China's peace proposal for Ukraine lacks 'key ingredients,' says Estonian official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina's peace proposal for Ukraine lacks 'key ingredients,' says Estonian officialKusti Salm, permanent secretary of Estonia's Ministry of Defense, discusses how Estonia has helped Ukraine in the war with Russia and gives his take on China's 12-point peace plan.

☆ Egypt's net foreign reserves rise to $34.4 bln in Feb -cenbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Estonia's ruling Reform party in the lead as 92% of parliament votes counted, article with imageEurope category · March 5, 2023 · 9:27 PM UTC · undefined ago · undefined agoEstonia's ruling liberal Reform party is leading Sunday's vote for parliament with 32.0% support as 92.4% of ballots have been counted, data from the national election authority showed.

☆ Estonia to order munitions in one of its largest military purchases
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VILNIUS, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Estonia is set to order a "significant quantity" of so-called loitering munitions, to be delivered in 2024 to increase the distance of its attacks, defence ministry said on Saturday. The loitering munitions, also called "kamikaze drones", cruise towards their target before plummeting at velocity and detonating on impact. The purchase of an unspecified number, set to be one of the largest in Estonia's history, is expected to be concluded this quarter. It is being made "in order to significantly increase (Estonian) indirect fire capability as a consequence of Russian aggression", the defence ministry said. Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European militaries are emptying their arsenals to send heavy-duty howitzers to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US and European countries have sent scores of artillery pieces to Ukraine. Estonia has promised to transfer all 24 of its FH-70 towed 155 mm howitzers. But at least the US and large European militaries, like Britain, France, Germany, or even Sweden, have sufficiently large arsenals to send weapons to Ukraine while still retaining some equipment for their own forces. For example, the US is scrambling to boost production of 155 mm artillery shells as Ukraine fires up to 7,000 shells a day. But expanding manufacturing capacity for artillery shells may take years, while the artillery pieces themselves may not even be in production anymore.

☆ There's nothing but 'zombie arguments' for not giving Ukraine fighter jets, one of its closest partners says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has placed advanced Western fighter jets at the top of its military hardware wishlist. He said the way some Western countries approach giving Ukraine weapons needs to be altered, saying there's "certain psychological taboos and I think we need to revise this negative approach." RADOSLAW JOZWIAK/AFP via Getty ImagesAmong the countries that initially rejected the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine are the US and UK. On Wednesday, the British government said it would offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly "sophisticated" NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the UK was considering the provision of fighter jets.

☆ Russian threat to Baltic security rising -Estonian intelligence report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service said it believed Russia still had the strength to exert "credible military pressure" on the Baltic region, where the security risk has risen for the medium and long-term. NATO and the European Union members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - the so-called Baltic states - have sharply boosted defence spending in response to Russia's 2014 capture of Crimea from Ukraine and the invasion of Ukraine last year. "Russia considers the Baltic states to be the most vulnerable part of NATO, which would make them a focus of military pressure in the event of a NATO-Russia conflict." Russia's military presence near the Baltic states' borders could be rebuilt in four years, the intelligence service said. Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius, editing by Terje Solsvik and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swedish PM ready to restart talks with Turkey when Ankara is
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TALLINN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday he was ready to restart stalled negotiations over Sweden's application to join NATO as soon as Turkey was. It is hard to have good talks when things are literally burning around you," Kristersson told a news conference during a visit to Estonia's capital. He said preconditions for restarting talks were good, but that with Turkish elections due in May, it was understandable Turkey was focused on domestic policy. "The goal is to be accepted as soon as possible, both Finland and Sweden," Niinisto told a joint news conference in Helsinki with Canada's visiting governor general. Finland and Sweden are progressing in full "co-understanding" and remain in close contact with NATO's headquarters, the White House and Turkey, Niinisto said.

☆ Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania urge Germany to send tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania made a joint call to Germany on Saturday to step up its leadership and send its main battle tanks to Ukraine, putting further pressure on Berlin to move faster on aiding Kyiv in its war against Russia. "We, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Foreign Ministers, call on Germany to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine now," Estonia's Foreign Minister said on Twitter. "This is needed to stop Russian aggression, help Ukraine and restore peace in Europe quickly. The statement came a day after Germany and Western allies reached no decision on whether Berlin would agree to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or permit other countries that have them to do so. Germany's new Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday he plans to visit Ukraine "quickly," adding that Berlin is in "close dialogue" on the issue of tanks with the United States and other international partners.

☆ Russia's defense manufacturing sector is using convict labor to meet war-time demands: UK intel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia announced it's using the forced labor of convicts to manufacture weaponry. The UK MOD said that manufacturers are likely under intense pressure to keep the army supplied. Russia, which reintroduced forced prison labor in 2017, has a prison population of around 400,000, as well as a system accused of perpetuating "extreme brutality and corruption," the UK MOD said. It is likely under "intense pressure" to produce more, the UK MOD said. The UK MOD report follows several signals that Russia, like Ukraine, is grappling with difficulties in keeping its front line supplied with a wide range of munitions.

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