Finland will provide Ukraine with the next 18th defense aid package by the end of the week, it will include heavy weapons and ammunition, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has said.
“Finland has already provided Ukraine with 1.7 billion euros in aid… We are now preparing the next 18th aid package. It will include heavy weapons, ammunition… We should deliver finally at the end of this week. This is a very good package. It contains very necessary materials,” Orpo said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
Answering journalists’ questions whether Finnish high technologies would be available to Ukraine and whether there was anything concrete that Finland could offer, the prime minister said he had discussed the issue with Zelensky and called it “a good idea.”
“We discussed this issue with the president. Last week we saw that a Swedish company signed a cooperation agreement with Ukraine. We discussed that there are high-tech companies in Finland, that they could engage in cooperation to manufacture something together. I think we have something to do. We have experience. So it’s a good idea,” he said.
In turn, Zelensky said that Ukraine is extremely interested in Finnish armored personnel carriers.
“We would like to manufacture them together – in Ukraine. We discussed this with the Prime Minister. He very rightly said that we concluded a memorandum on the production of CV-90. But we need more. And during the war and after the war Ukraine will need to remain strong in order not to give Russia any opportunity to think about the second wave of aggression against us. That’s why we need to produce more. That is why we wanted and want to organize this Defense Industries Forum,” the Ukrainian president said.
Swedish authorities are going to provide Ukraine with another $313 million military aid package to counter Russian full-scale aggression, Western media reported on Tuesday, citing Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson.
He said at a press conference that the package would include ammunition and spare parts for Leopard 2 tanks, CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles, Archer self-propelled artillery systems (SAU), as well as landmine clearance equipment and ammunition for air defense systems.
The minister added that the government was counting on a positive outcome of Thursday’s vote in the Swedish parliament to adopt this, already the 13th military aid package for Ukraine.
The mass media recall that the value of the previous tranches of military aid to Kiev amounted to $1.6bn. Sweden sent Archer SAU, at least 10 Stridsvagn main battle tanks, 122 Leopard 2A5 tanks, 50 CV-90 BMPs, RBS 70 man-portable surface-to-air missile systems, NLAW man-portable anti-tank missile systems, a significant number of components for Hawk and Iris-T air defense systems.
The German Armed Forces have extended to about 4 billion euros a contract with arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to make ammunition for Leopard 2 tanks, it is expected that some of this ammunition will be supplied to Ukraine, according to the Rheinmetall Group’s website.
“The Bundeswehr has extended the existing framework contract with Rheinmetall for the supply of tank ammunition worth around 4 billion euros…. The order expresses the armed forces’ desire to close the resulting stockpile gaps and increase the overall ammunition supply in view of the security situation. The framework agreement also provides for the delivery of a significant amount of tank ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the statement said.
It is also noted that “by the end of 2030 under the concluded framework agreement may be purchased several hundred thousand combat and training ammunition of various designs of 120 mm x 570 caliber, similar to those fired by the main gun of the Leopard-2 main battle tank.”
According to the company, the first delivery of ammunition worth about 309 million euros took place immediately after the contract was signed.
It is emphasized that for many countries that use the Leopard battle tank with 120mm smoothbore gun, Rheinmetall is the main supplier of ammunition of this caliber.
Finland will provide Ukraine with the 17th package of military assistance, including air defense equipment and ammunition, the Finnish government said in a press release on Thursday.
According to the statement, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto made the decision based on the government’s proposal.
The aid package will cost Finland 105 million euros.
In order to ensure the safe delivery of military cargoes to their destination, more precise details about the content of the aid package, the timing and ways of its transportation are not reported.
In total, Finland has provided Ukraine with military assistance worth about 1.2 billion euros.
Canada will deliver nearly five thousand assault rifles and ammunition to Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to the Canadian Ministry of Defence.
“The delivery of the small arms and ammunition aid package announced in April is on schedule. Machine guns, assault rifles, cleaning kits and magazines have already been delivered to Ukraine, and one million rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition and 4,800 assault rifles should arrive in the coming weeks,” the report said.
According to the Canadian Ministry of Defence, all 21,000 small arms and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition planned for delivery are expected to be in Ukraine by summer.
“Canada’s support for Ukraine is unwavering. When I travel across Canada, I see Ukrainian flags on homes, small businesses and cars – because Canadians understand that Ukraine’s fight for self-defence is also a fight for sovereignty, freedom and independence,” said Canadian National Defence Minister Anita Anand, quoted by the ministry’s press office
