Ukraine: cybersecurity is a primary battleground as the country defends itself from Russian attacks | Credit: Margarita Marushevska (Unsplash)Ukraine and Estonia are to further strengthen their ‘international digital cooperation’, including in the crucial field of cybersecurity, as Russian forces continue their deadly attacks on Ukraine.
Ukraine deputy minister of digital transformation Vitalii Balashov and Estonia minister of justice and digital affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta signed a ‘Memorandum of Cooperation’ in the fields of digitalisation and cybersecurity during the ‘Tallinn Digital Summit’ a couple of months ago (9 October).
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and Estonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV, which manages Estonia’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance programmes) have since held meetings to ‘deepen’ their relations, according to an announcement this week (11 December) on the website of Ukraine’s ‘Digital State’ initiative (a project implemented by the ministry).
The two nations’ government departments and agencies have worked closely on numerous initiatives in recent years, including on the ‘Diia’ app – launched in 2020, which allows Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents on smartphones for identification and sharing purposes.
The newly promoted intention for closer collaboration includes joint work within the Tallinn Mechanism — the initiative formalised two years ago (December 2023) to coordinate and facilitate 13 countries’ support of Ukraine’s cybersecurity — and new developments funded by Sweden and Norway’s development agencies.
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Sida and Norad support
European leaders said earlier this week that “intensive work” would continue in the coming days on a US-led plan to end the conflict in which cybersecurity is a primary battleground.
This memorandum signed by Balashov and Pakosta ‘provided for’ the implementation of joint projects in cybersecurity, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) and e-services, according to an announcement at the time. Specific plans mentioned included: establishing a joint ‘AI Accelerator’ to test and implement AI solutions in government institutions; launching an ‘AI Sandbox’ for the safe testing of new technologies; implementing pilot EdTech (education technology) projects to create ‘AI tutors’ and digital learning platforms; participating jointly in international cyber exercises, including ‘Locked Shields’ by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE); developing open GovTech (government technology) solutions and training programmes for civil servants; and ‘exchanging experience in data management and implementing post-quantum cryptography in e-services’.
Two specific new developments are highlighted in the latest announcement: an international tender, being run out of Estonia and funded by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency); and the signing of an agreement to launch new Tallinn Mechanism projects funded by Norad (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation).
Details on the Sida-funded tender – for which Ukrainian cybersecurity companies are ‘invited to apply’ – are located on Estonia’s public procurement portal. The activity is described as a ‘framework procurement for information and communication technology (ICT)-related items and services carried out by the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV, which manages Estonia’s development cooperation and humanitarian assistance programmes). Its ‘estimated cost’ is EUR 27 million (about £23.7 million / $31.7 million) and tenders need to be submitted by 16 December.
In respect of Norad, the announcement states that ‘total support will exceed UAH 100 million’ (NOK 25 million – this is about £1.8m / $2.4 million). Norway’s overall support programme for both civilian and military aid for Ukraine is known as the ‘Nansen Programme’ and has a total budget of NOK 205 billion for the period 2023–2030 – it is the largest and longest-running aid commitment in Norway’s history.
The announcement also states that the two countries are ‘also expanding trilateral cooperation with the United Kingdom’.
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Tallinn Mechanism initiatives
A Tallinn Mechanism Project Office (TMPO) was officially launched in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, seven months ago (May 2025).
The office ‘aims to enhance transparency, coordination and the effectiveness of donor support for Ukraine’s cyber resilience,’ according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement that described the country as ‘facing the most technologically advanced war in history’ and ‘daily waves of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.’
Dozens of initiatives are already being implemented under the Tallinn Mechanism, including cybersecurity assessments, training programmes and the provision of Starlink terminals, which play a vital role in helping Ukraine’s digital resilience. Starlink is satellite internet service from US-headquartered company SpaceX.
The fifth ‘UA-EE [Ukraine-Estonia] Cyber Shield’ training session was recently held, where participants practised incident response in simulated environments.
This week’s announcement describes Ukraine and Estonia as ‘stand[ing] as an example of effective cooperation.’ As well as Estonian expertise helping with Diia’s development, the two countries also began co-operation three years ago (end of 2022) on piloting ‘mRiik’, a Diia-inspired mobile app for digital government services in Estonia. In addition, Ukraine built its national data exchange platform ‘Trembita’ based on Estonia’s ‘X-Road’ technology.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation last month (November) presented a draft version of a national AI development strategy, which was created with input from Estonian experts and financial support through ESTDEV, at the ‘WINWIN Summit 2025’ in Kyiv.