Herem: fear of mistakes must not push Estonia into inaction on aid to Ukraine

Martin Herem, the candidate for Estonia's defence minister post, has said that mistakes are an unavoidable risk of fast weapons procurement, but fear of possible failures must not lead the state into inaction. He made the remarks in an interview with the Vikerhommik programme, given before his possible appointment as defence minister became known, the portal ERR.ee reported on Saturday.

Herem noted that supplying weapons to Ukraine in a critical situation requires difficult choices and carries risks. "The only way not to fail is not to buy shells," he said, adding that refusing to help Ukraine would seem criminal to him.

Speed comes with risk

According to Herem, fast procurement and a willingness to take on a certain level of risk can sometimes lead to failures, but that does not mean decisions should stop being made. "It seems the only way to never make a mistake is to do nothing. In reality, that would put us on a path of even faster decline. I don't know all the details of the risks involved, but I know that the Estonian state and the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (RKIK) acted out of a desire to help Ukraine quickly," Herem said.

He stressed that Estonia had acted quickly on aid to Ukraine and had not lagged behind other countries, but that such a policy inevitably created situations where risks materialised.

Change of minister

Discussing accountability for unsuccessful decisions, Herem referred to outgoing defence minister Hanno Pevkur, who announced his resignation on September 2, citing the need to take political responsibility for the State Audit Office's findings on the Defence Forces and the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (RKIK). On September 9, Prime Minister Kristen Michal offered Herem the defence minister post, which Herem accepted.