18.4.2025 | Estonia

Exhibition of war booty of Ukrainian fighters at the Estonian War Museum—also offering pastries to support veterans

Text Susanna Poikela
Photos Timo Huttunen, Ivar Heinmaa, Sandra Niinepuu

The Estonian War Museum in Viimsi will hold a charity event on Saturday, 19 April, with proceeds going to support veterans of the Estonian Defence Forces and the Estonian Homeland Defence League (Kaitseliit). An international exhibition will also open during the day, showcasing Russian weapons and equipment collected from the front by the defenders of Ukraine.

The charity event will begin at 11:00 with a bake sale featuring treats baked by local volunteers. At 13:00, the “Unbreakable Code: Spoils of War” exhibition from Ukrainian Fighters will open in the military–technical hall, showcasing Russian military equipment and personal belongings of soldiers. The exhibition will also feature artifacts from the Moskva missile cruiser, which was sunk by Ukraine in 2022.

The exhibition has been organised in cooperation with the Ukrainian Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs, and has previously been on display in Paris and Kaunas. It is part of a traveling exhibition at the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine.

According to Hellar Lill, director of the War Museum, the exhibition complements the museum’s previous collections, which include a T-72 tank destroyed by Ukrainians, put on display in 2023. “The exhibition is a concrete look at the reality of modern warfare. The exhibition includes military equipment from small devices to weapons that kill Ukrainians every day,” Lill says.

The museum offers free entry on Saturday. In lieu of an entrance fee, visitors are encouraged to support the veterans by purchasing baked goods from 11:00 to 15:00. The baked goods have been prepared by the Viimsi Women’s Voluntary Defence Organisation (Naiskodukaitse), veterans’ spouses, and museum staff.

At the same time, the museum’s military technical hall and armoured train number 7 (called “Wabadus”) will be opened for the first time, this spring. The exhibition will be open until mid-June.