Dear Ukrainians of Estonia, our Estonian friends and colleagues in the diplomatic corps!

My tenure as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Estonia is coming to an end.

Now, leaving the ancient and eternally young Tallinn, I recall with special warmth the years of my diplomatic work in Estonia, which became a real leader in supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russian full-scale aggression.

On February 24, 2022, the diplomatic service of Ukraine faced a task of primary importance. The diplomats of the Embassy acted as one team, with joint efforts and hard work we managed to achieve significant successes, among which I would like to mention the following.

We have maintained and increased Estonia's political support for Ukraine in the fight for the restoration of the territorial integrity of our State within internationally recognized borders, the consistent implementation of the Peace Formula of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in particular regarding the need to hold russia accountable for its crimes in Ukraine and the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, as well as acceleration of Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO.

It is also worth mentioning Estonia's assistance to our country in the field of defense. Estonia is a real leader in this dimension, it is important that some of the weapons were provided even before the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression, which played a crucial role in the first days of the war. In total, Estonia provided 15 packages of military-technical assistance worth more than 400 million euros, which is more than 1% of Estonia's GDP.

The war confirmed the importance of cooperation in the field of cybersecurity. With the active support of our Estonian partners, we managed to join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (NATO CCDCOE) and the National Flag of Ukraine was raised at the NATO CCDCOE on May 16, 2023.

The war brought to Ukraine unprecedented destruction of housing, social and infrastructure facilities. Estonia extended a helping hand - since the beginning of the russian aggression, Estonia has already provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine for 23.1 million euros, of which government aid - 4.1 million euros, private assistance - 19.0 million euros. Estonia was the first to complete the implementation of the project for the construction of an Estonian-made modular kindergarten at the expense of the Government of Estonia (estimated cost of the project – 4.7 million euros), the official opening of the first phase of which took place on June 2, 2023 in the city of Ovruch, Zhytomyr region.

The inhuman cruelty of the Russian occupiers led to the mass departure of temporarily displaced persons from Ukraine, Estonia wholeheartedly accepted and gave shelter to tens of thousands of Ukrainians, including many children. We are grateful to the Government of Estonia and the City Hall of Tallinn for the establishment of two schools for Ukrainian children, who now have the opportunity to continue their education, including in their native language.

This is not a complete list of our common achievements. There is a lot of work ahead. I believe in our joint success, in friendship between our peoples. I will always remember the support of the Estonian people and all the friends of Ukraine in

Estonia during these difficult war years.

Estonia will always be in my heart.

For our and your freedom! Together to victory!

Slava Ukraini! Elagu Eesti!