Finland will donate a 12th defence equipment package to Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Defence.
The decision was signed by President Sauli Niinistö on Thursday based on a proposal by the Finnish government.
In a tweet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked "true friends" President Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) and the Finnish government for arranging and sending the package.
The value of this materiel shipment has been estimated to cost Finland over 400 million euros.
The total value of all defence equipment packages shipped from Finland to Ukraine is now 590 million euros.
"Ukraine continues to need support in defending its territory and the current package of defence materiel is clearly the largest one to date. Finland supplies heavy artillery and munitions to Ukraine," said Minister of Defence Mikko Savola (Centre).
Lacking Leopards
For operational reasons and to ensure the safe delivery of aid, no further information is provided on the content, delivery method or schedule of the arms package.
"I can however tell you that this particular support package does not include Leopards [battle tanks]. If we decide to participate in sending them, a separate decision will be made," Director General Janne Kuusela told Yle.
Support for Ukraine is also on the agenda on Friday in Ramstein, Germany, where the defence ministers of Finland and Sweden are scheduled to sign a statement of intent on support, according to the Finnish Ministry of Defence. A coalition of Nato allies and other Western countries are meeting at the US military base in Germany to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence also emphasised that Leopard 2 battle tanks — manufactured in Germany, which holds the export licences — were not part of the package being sent to Ukraine. According to Reuters, it is expected that sending the tanks to Ukraine will also be discussed in Ramstein.
Swedish-Finnish cooperation
Part of the defence equipment aid now being shipped from Finland to Ukraine is possible due to the intensifying cooperation between Finland and Sweden.
According to Director General Kuusela, this is due to cooperation between the countries' defence forces. The defence forces will agree on practical details and planning.
"The rising level of cooperation makes it possible to work more efficiently in various security situations. You could say that we are able to provide more effective support to Ukraine through the bilateral cooperation between Finland and Sweden," Kuusela said.
Defence authorities have aimed to continue to support Ukraine with the defence materiel it needs, but in such a way that the support does not endanger the defence capabilities of Finland or Sweden.
Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then sign up to receive our weekly email.
