Russia will need two to four years before it can rebuild its military to the strength it had before the Ukraine war, Estonia’s Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said on Tuesday.
“What more or less the consensus is, is that it takes two to four years for Russia to restore some capabilities or even the same capabilities they had” before the war, Pevkur is quoted by the AFP news agency.
Pevkur made his comments during a visit to Washington.
As Russia is suspected to be using Iranian kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine, Pevkur said had heard Moscow’s arsenal to be so drained that it is using its S-300 air defense system as ordinary missiles and that Russian shells have exploded in the air because they are too old.
“When we can find new ways on how to impact Russia with the sanctions, for sure we need to do that,” Pevkur said.
Pevkur also warned that Russia still had the capacity to conduct attacks, including on NATO members such as Estonia. However, he played down the possibility that Moscow could conduct a nuclear strike.
“I don’t see any positive, additional added value to Russia” of a nuclear strike, he said. By contrast, Moscow could lose the silent support of countries like China, Pevkur added.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
