Ukraine and Finland Sign 10-Year Security Framework

Finland and Kyiv signed a long-term agreement on security co-operation on Wednesday, during a visit by Finnish President Alexander Stubb to Kyiv.

Stubb also said Finland was delivering a 188 million-euro ($202 million) package of military aid, including air defence and heavy ammunition to Ukraine's army to help it "win this war".

In the 10-year agreement, the Nordic country said it would "continue to provide long-term military, political and financial support, as well as humanitarian assistance and civil protection support to Ukraine ... for as long as it takes".

The deal -- which is not a mutual defence pact or military alliance -- is the latest in a succession of such commitments signed between Ukraine and its key Western backers.

The latest package of support takes the total level of Finland's military aid to Ukraine to two billion euros since Russia invaded in February 2022, Stubb said at a press conference in Kyiv.

"We're not giving this military support only for Ukraine to defend itself. We're giving this military support for Ukraine to win this war," he said.

Ukraine is facing ammunition shortages on the frontlines amid delays to crucial Western aid.

A $60 billion package has been held up in the US Congress since last year, while promised artillery shell deliveries by Europe are running months behind schedule.

Kyiv relies on Western arms to defend against the Russian invasion.

Other Topics of Interest

How Ukrainians React to Zelensky’s New Plan

President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his “Internal Sustainability Plan,” an addition to the “Victory Plan,” but this time addressed not to international partners, but to Ukrainian citizens.

Stubb also said Wednesday that he does not have a problem with a spate of strikes against oil facilities inside Russia.

Ukraine on Tuesday launched two drone strikes on the Russian region of Tatarstan, some 1,100 kilometres (700 miles) from the countries' shared border in one of the deepest attacks into Russian territory.

"The only thing that Russia understands is power ... If the question is do I have a problem with the price of oil going up because of them? My answer is no. I don't have a problem with it because in war, there's always collateral damage," Stubb said.

He did not explicitly say Ukraine was behind a string of strikes on Russian oil refineries -- which Kyiv's intelligence ag.