With the new package, the reimbursable value of the defense equipment delivered by Finland to Ukraine is a total of 590 million euros. Help is possible because we cooperate with Sweden.
Teija Santaharju,
Marica Paukkeri
10:18•Updated 13:54
Finland donates more defense aid to Ukraine. The package is the biggest so far. However, it does not include Leopard 2 main battle tanks. The President of the Republic decided on the matter on Thursday based on the proposal of the Government.
This is the twelfth defense aid shipment from Finland to Ukraine. It is estimated that replacing the performances included in the broadcast will cost Finland more than 400 million euros.
With the latest package, the compensable value of all defense equipment packages delivered by Finland to Ukraine is EUR 590 million.
– Ukraine still needs support in its defense battle. The set of defense equipment to be sent now is clearly the largest we have decided so far. Finland delivers heavy weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, says the defense minister Mikko Savola (middle).
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi profusely thanks Finland for the military aid on Twitter. Zelenskyi states that Finland’s donation will be needed.
The package does not include Leopards
For operational reasons and to guarantee the safe delivery of the aid, the content, method of delivery or schedule of the aid will not be announced in more detail.
– However, I can tell you that this support package does not include Leopards. If we decide to participate in them, a separate decision will be made, CEO Janne Kuusela says to .
Foreign minister Pekka Haaviston (green) says that the help Finland is now offering aims to respond to Ukraine’s acute need for help.
– Tank systems involve training, maintenance and the entire ecosystem that the tank type needs. They are not very quick solutions. That’s why it’s important that we also provide weapons that Ukraine can use immediately.
Supporting Ukraine is also on display on Friday in Ramstein, Germany, where the defense ministers of Finland and Sweden are scheduled to sign a declaration of intent regarding support.
Part of the Finnish defense aid that is now being sent to Ukraine is possible thanks to the growing cooperation between Finland and Sweden.
According to CEO Kuusela, it is about cooperation between the countries’ defense forces. Defense forces agree on practical details and planning.
– Cooperation rising to a new level enables more efficient working together in various security situations. The matter could be summed up so that we are able to provide more effective support to Ukraine with the help of bilateral cooperation between Finland and Sweden, Kuusela describes.
According to the declaration of intent to be signed today, Finland will hand over material to Ukraine, and Sweden expresses its readiness to support Finland as needed. The Finnish and Swedish defense forces review and, if necessary, update their operational plans in this regard.
According to Foreign Minister Haavisto, Finland would have been able to offer a support package of 400 million euros even without Sweden’s support. However, he sees that cooperation strengthens Finland’s national defense.
– The situation is much safer because we know that Sweden has materials that we can use if necessary. When countries give significant arms aid packages to Ukraine, it is important to take care of their own national defense at the same time, Haavisto emphasizes.
The defense administrations have worked out how to support Ukraine with the defense material it needs in such a way that the material support would not endanger the implementation of Finland’s or Sweden’s national defense.
Story corrected on January 20, 2023 at 11:47 a.m.: The President of the Republic decided on the matter on Thursday based on the Government’s proposal, not on Friday, as the story previously read.
The story will be updated.