Finland has announced it will send A$101 million worth of ammunition to Ukraine, funding it from Russian financial assets frozen by the European Union.
Ukraine has had firm support from Finland since Russia invaded three years ago, and after joining NATO in 2023 became a signatory to a bilateral defence pact with the war-torn nation that focused on cooperation in intelligence, armaments, and training.
Now, the Finnish defence ministry has confirmed that it will send this latest round of help to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets, reaffirming its stance.
The E.U. currently holds an estimated $210 billion of the roughly $300 billion in Russian assets frozen across the bloc. These assets are mostly government bonds and reserves once held by Russia’s central bank.
“We were able to negotiate additional funding for Finland’s support for Ukraine…I am very pleased with the outcome,” said Minister of Defence Häkkänen.
“Finland’s support for Ukraine is unwavering and strong even in other respects. This new package alongside our national €660 million support programme will forge closer links between the Finnish industry and Finland’s support for Ukraine. This is a great example of the Finnish defence industry’s abilities, and it shows that our investments into ammunition production capacity are paying off."
This follows a discussion between Finnish President Alexander Stubb and his United States counterpart, where Stubb emerged saying that Donald Trump could be ready to implement crippling sanctions as his patience with Russia grows thin.
“If we were to pull it together, we could say that Zelenskyy is patient and President Trump is starting to be impatient, but in the right direction, that is, towards Russia," Stubbs said.
