Follow our lead on defence or pay price, Estonia warns

Starmer urges allies to double down on support for Ukraine

- MILLIE COOKE

Sir Keir Starmer has said allies must double down on support for Ukraine, as pressure grows on the UK to boost defence spending. It comes just hours after Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur issued a stark warning to allies that spending 2 per cent of GDP on defence is simply not enough. He urged allies to act immediately to boost funding, suggesting one possible method would be to introduce a security tax – something Estonia will be implementing from the new year.

The prime minister is meeting with leaders from the 10 member states of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) – a UK-led European defence alliance – at a two-day summit in Tallinn, where defence spending is expected to be the main topic of discussion. Speaking at a panel discussion at yesterday’s opening, Sir Keir warned that the West cannot allow Russia to benefit from its actions in Ukraine.

He said: “There will be discussions in the next 24 hours, as leaders are here in Tallinn for the JEF meeting. It’s important that we double down on support for Ukraine. It’s really important that we see this as not just a Ukrainian sovereignty issue but as a much wider conflict. We cannot allow Russia to gain from the aggression we’ve seen throughout this conflict.”