(Reuters) – Finland on Wednesday signed a 10-year security pact with Ukraine and will send the country another 188 million euros in military aid, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kiev.
The agreement covers security cooperation and long-term support, including support for Ukraine’s defense and security against the Russian invasion two years ago and for Ukraine’s reforms and reconstruction, Stubb’s office said.
“The 10-year agreement is proof of Finland’s long-term commitment to supporting Ukraine,” according to a statement.
Finland will also provide another package of defense materials, including air defense and heavy caliber ammunition, among other things, Stubb said at a joint press conference with Zelenskiy in the Ukrainian capital.
He said the new aid package would bring the total Finnish contribution to Ukraine’s defense since 2022 to around 2 billion euros.
“We are not giving this military support just for Ukraine to defend itself, we are giving this military support for Ukraine to win this war,” said Stubb.
Ukraine relies heavily on Western air defense systems against its militarily superior foe and has long pressed its international partners for larger armaments to ward off growing Russian attacks on its cities and power grid.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that Kiev’s partners were not providing enough air defense to protect against Russian missile attacks, despite having more than 100 Patriot systems in their own arsenals.
Finland shares a 1,340 km border with Russia and joined NATO last year, breaking with generations of military non-alignment to bolster its defenses against any threat from its giant neighbor.