On 22 October, Ukraine and Finland signed seven cooperation agreements totalling around 300 million euros. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this following talks with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in Kyiv. The President also announced a new package of Finnish support, although the terms and mechanisms of the new agreements have not yet been disclosed.
Briefly about the main points
- The signed documents are estimated to be worth approximately 300 million euros.
- The amount announced does not represent funds that have already been transferred to Ukraine.
- Finland has allocated 5 million euros for winter training.
- «Ukrzaliznytsia» is to receive ten locomotives.
- Helsinki is ready to participate in the IBAR Task Force.
The announced amount covers agreements, not just direct funding
Zelensky At a joint press conference, he said that the parties had drawn up seven new documents, and that the total value of the current agreements amounts to around 300 million euros. He did not specify the content of each document.
This estimate does not confirm that Ukraine has already received the relevant amount. It has not been publicly disclosed what proportion of the total relates to financial support, contracts or other forms of cooperation.
As of the evening of 22 October, the specific amounts, the list of documents signed and the deadlines for their implementation had not been made public. It is precisely these details that will determine the practical content of the agreements.
Winter support, locomotives and work on European integration
During a separate meeting Orpo with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Serhiy Koretskyi The parties discussed energy security, defence cooperation, preparations for the winter and European integration.
Koretsky thanked the Finnish Government for its concrete support. This includes funding for winter preparations and humanitarian programmes, as well as the provision of rolling stock for «Ukrzaliznytsia». According to him, Russian troops have destroyed or damaged more than 500 Ukrainian locomotives over the past year and a half, so additional rolling stock is needed to keep the transport system running.
The governments also discussed the establishment of the IBAR Task Force, designed to accelerate Ukraine’s progress towards the EU. Finland has expressed its willingness to participate in its work.
- 5 million euros — to help Ukraine prepare for winter.
- 2 million euros — for humanitarian programmes.
- 10 locomotives — for the needs of «Ukrzaliznytsia».
Defence cooperation is developing along a separate track
The new documents supplement, but do not replace, the existing frameworks for Ukrainian-Finnish cooperation. On 23 September, the two countries signed a separate agreement, the ‘Drone Deal’, to deepen defence cooperation.
It provides for the exchange of technology and expertise, joint research projects and opportunities for the development of production drones. The Office of the President of Finland stated that the cooperation is intended to strengthen the defence capabilities of both countries and promote the development of defence industries.
As early as 16 October Zelensky Orpo and [name] discussed strengthening Ukraine’s air defences, protecting the energy sector from Russian attacks and developing the Coalition of Shelters. The September agreement and these talks are separate from the arrangements announced during the current visit.
