EERO Canada donations dropped in 2023 to $133,922.CAD, primarily because of the drop in donations for Ukrainian refugees. Unfortunately the war continues and therefore the needs continue. Estonia has increased its military budget and continues to support Ukraine. Canada also continues to support Ukraine. Hopefully Canadian Estonians and their friends and families will continue to support the Ukrainian refugees in Estonia by supporting our Independence Day campaign to raise money to support trauma therapy and children’s activities.
The U.S. will transfer confiscated Russian funds to Estonia to be used in support of Ukraine, the US Justice Department announced on Saturday.
US Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary General Tõnis Saar announced today at the Munich Security Conference the transfer of nearly $500,000 in forfeited Russian funds for the purpose of providing aid to Ukraine. The funds were forfeited by the United States following the breakup of an illegal procurement network attempting to import into Russia a high-precision, U.S.-origin machine tool with uses in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors. Additionally, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, a citizen of Latvia charged criminally in connection with the procurement scheme pleaded guilty to violating U.S. export laws and regulations.
Estonia's prime minister Kaja Kallas has been put on a wanted list in Russia because of her efforts to remove Soviet-era Second World War monuments in the Baltic nation, reported Russian media on Tuesday.
Kallas's name appears on the Interior Ministry's register of people wanted on criminal charges, which also includes other officials and lawmakers from Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
Kallas appears to be the first head of state placed on the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list by the Russian government since the full-fledged invasion began. Kallas dismissed the move on social media as Moscow's "familiar scare tactic" and proof that she was “doing the right thing” by supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia.
I am once again asking for your help in support of Ukrainian refugee students at the University of Tartu. Their situation continues to be difficult. Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated by the University.
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine continues. Ukrainians who fled their homeland continue to live in onerous conditions in many countries, including Estonia. These refugees include 300 students at the University of Tartu. The University made a commitment to these students at the outset of the 2022 invasion, and established a fund in their support. To date the fund has been able to provide much needed financial support of 150,000 euros to Ukrainian students in need. A large measure of the money donated came from the Estonian diaspora. Estonian organizations and individuals in both Canada and the United States donated almost $80,000 CDN in support of Ukrainian refugee students. The University of Tartu was extremely grateful in acknowledging this support.
In February 2024, the Grammy-award winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EPCC) together with conductor Tõnu Kaljuste, will once again embark after a five-year hiatus, on a long-awaited concert tour to the United States and Canada, where they will give four concerts featuring the works of Arvo Pärt and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. For several years Arvo Pärt has been chosen as the most performed living composer in the world.
The EPCC concerts are scheduled for February 1–8, at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in New York (Feb 1st), St. Paul’s Basilica in Toronto (Feb 3rd), St. John’s Episcopal Church in Georgetown – Washington, DC (Feb 6th), and the Episcopal Cathedral in Philadelphia (Feb 8th).