Finland and Ukraine sign new MoU on defence cooperation – Finland announces new arms assistance package

Finland and Ukraine sign new MoU on defence cooperation - Finland announces new arms assistance package

Finland's Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen and Ukraine's Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov met bilaterally on Thursday 13 March 2025. They signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation between the two countries' defence administrations.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Finland and Ukraine aims to deepen defence cooperation between the two countries. Cooperation will be enhanced in a number of fields, including defence materiel, exchange of information, research and innovation, ammunition production, and defence industrial projects in Finland and Ukraine.

"For more than three years, Finland has supported Ukraine's defence against Russia. We are one of Ukraine's biggest supporters by GDP ratio. Finland and Ukraine are on the same edge of Europe and, drawing from our historical experience, we share a perception of the threat of Russia. Finland is committed to continuing its support for Ukraine. However, the relationship between our countries is not a one-way street but a mutually beneficial partnership. This Memorandum of Understanding shows that we want to expand and deepen our cooperation for the benefit of both countries," Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen said.

"Three long years of defence against Russia have honed the Ukrainian armed forces into one of the strongest in Europe. At the same time, Ukrainians have gained extensive experience of how to defend their country against Russia. This means that when we develop our own defence system we must heed head the lessons learned by Ukrainians and make use of their experiences," Häkkänen said.

Finland donates yet another large material aid package to Ukraine

During the ministers' meeting, Finland told Ukraine of our next arms assistance package, which will be the 28th. The package, valued at around EUR 200 million, is waiting approval from the Finnish Government and the President of the Republic. Earlier in January, Finland decided on its 27th package, valued at nearly EUR 200 million in replacement cost. In late February, Finland announced an industrial programme of EUR 660 million which will be used to procure new defence materiel from the Finnish defence industry to help Ukraine. Delivering on these decisions will raise the total value of Finland's materiel assistance to EUR 3.3 billion.

"As before, we will not reveal the details of the aid package. What I can say is that this time the package contains artillery ammunition for which there is a great need right now in Ukraine. It is tremendous that there is such a broad political support and national consensus in Finland for supporting Ukraine. Moreover, it is invaluable that we have succeeded in combining support for Ukraine and stronger security of supply in Finland through our new industrial programme," Häkkänen said.

Inquiries:

Markus Rahja, Senior Specialist (Memorandum of Understanding), Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 096, and Antti Vesala, Special Adviser to the Minister (materiel assistance package), tel. +358 295 140 099

Return to headlines