Estonia will send a consignment of 2,400 Soviet-era Makarov pistols to Ukraine to support Kyiv’s war effort against Russian aggression, Estonian Ministry of Defense announced on July 7.
According to the statement, the Estonian authorities will also cover transport costs to the value of 7,000 euros.
The ministry added that Estonia steadfastly supports Ukraine and that the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be restored.
“Russia’s continuing aggression in Crimea and eastern Ukraine is unacceptable and has a wider impact on the security of the whole of Europe,” Estonian Defense Minister Jüri Luig said, according to the statement.
“With this shipment, we support our ally who is at war for the sixth year. In addition to donating weapons, Estonia supports Ukraine in the training of special forces and in the field of military medicine, and shares experience in the fields of territorial and cyber defense.”
The Estonian authorities also added that the handover was being carried out at Ukraine’s request.
Makarov, or PM, is a family of compact, light-weight semi-automatic pistols designed in the late 1940s by Soviet constructor Nikolay Makarov. Since the early 1950s, the PM pistol was the standard 9-millimeter sidearm assigned to Soviet military forces and law enforcement officers. Numerous other militaries around the world, primarily in the Soviet bloc, also adopted this weapon.
With up to 10 million of the pistols produced over the decades in the Soviet Union and other countries, PMs became one of the world’s best known and most widespread pistols.
Ukrainian military and police forces continue using Makarov pistols, with scores stored in military depots.
Specialists name the PM’s simplicity and ease of use and maintenance as the pistol’s main advantages.
“The Makarov is compact, reliable and easy to use in its construction, and it will definitely add an important component to the armaments of Ukrainians,” the Estonian Defense Ministry quoted Risto Pärtel, Chief of Ordnance in the Estonian Defence Forces, as saying of the transfer.
He said Estonia could make the transfer as it had switched over to NATO calibre weapons.
