Kaja Kallas: "We shouldn't overestimate Russia's power or underestimate our own strength."

Kaja Kallas, the former Prime Minister of Estonia and now the new chief diplomat of the EU, arrived in Kyiv on December 1, the first day of her tenure, to demonstrate that the EU's support for Ukraine will not wane.

In an interview with Kyiv Independent, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs stated that “the EU is the largest investor in Ukraine's defense industry.”

“400 million euros this year, 1.9 billion euros next year. This is exactly what will facilitate the development of the defense industry in Ukraine with the help of the European Union,” Kallas said.

Key points from this interview:

* The EU will do more for military and economic support for Ukraine.

* It is important to show the US that supporting Kyiv is also in their American interests.

* Weakening the Russian economy through sanctions so that when the time comes for negotiations, Moscow lacks the resources to continue its war.

* The further strategy for Europe is to enhance the effectiveness of sanctions against Moscow and utilize frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia to keep Ukraine afloat.

“Firstly, in March, the criminalization of circumventing sanctions will come into effect. But we have a lot more to do to ensure that the sanctions are actually working,” Kallas said.

“If we concentrate all our efforts on properly enforcing the sanctions, we can achieve greater results that weaken Russia. We see that their economy is in a very dire state,” she emphasized.

Can Russia sustain its military efforts when the ruble is falling and inflation is soaring? In recent months, the Russian economy has faced challenges as record-high interest rates have failed to stop the accelerating inflation, which is expected to reach around 10% in 2024.

The US decision on November 21 to impose new sanctions on dozens of Russian banks dealt another blow to the Russian economy: the value of the Russian ruble fell by more than 10% in a week, reaching an exchange rate of 113 rubles per $1.

“The interest rate of the Russian bank is 21%. They have completely depleted their national fund. They cannot generate the gas revenues they used to. And they have a very complicated situation with the job market, as everything is going into the military industry,” Kallas said.

In 2025, Russia will spend about 40% of its budget on the country's defense sector.

“We should not overestimate Russia's strength. We should not underestimate our own strength,” Kallas noted, emphasizing that the EU, whose economy is eight times larger than Russia's, must approach Moscow from a position of strength.

At the same time, the diplomat asserts that while the European Union is trying to support Ukraine, maintaining the current level of support may seem unattainable if the US reduces its involvement.

European officials are currently trying to persuade the States to continue supporting Ukraine, she said. “We intend to talk to our American allies about why it is also in their interest to invest in Ukraine's security,” Kallas noted.

“Helping Ukraine is not charity; it is an investment in our own security. And it is in the interest of the US, if we look at the bigger picture, we see that North Korea, Iran, China, and Russia are working together. We see that North Korean soldiers are now also being recruited by Russia to fight against Ukraine,” she added.

“So if the US is concerned about China’s rise, they must first deal with Russia, because in every respect, Russia is their biggest adversary,” emphasized the head of European diplomacy.

Kallas firmly insists that “Ukraine decides for itself” when to conduct peace negotiations, which the team of newly elected President Trump seems to be trying to initiate.

“Right now, our duty is to support Ukraine so that it can strengthen its position on the battlefield. The stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger it will be at the negotiating table,” Kallas concluded.

Background. It is worth noting that in the same interview, Kaja Kallas reported that the EU has delivered 1 million shells to Ukraine, albeit with delays. She promised that Brussels will continue to invest in shell production in Ukraine.