Ukraine and Finland have extended the implementation of the project “Finnish Support to the Ukrainian School Reform” until 2023, the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine reported on Thursday.
The corresponding agreement was signed during a meeting in Kyiv by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal and Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin. The project provides financial support from Finland for educational reform in Ukraine in the amount of up to EUR 6 million and up to EUR 2 million from the European Union.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s aggression in 2014, Finland has helped us on all international platforms, provided significant support in promoting reforms in Ukraine, in particular in the field of education,” Shmyhal said.
Finland will allocate EUR 70 million in aid to Ukraine and send additional military equipment, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has said.
“We have made a decision on a further allocation of EUR 700 million to help Ukrainian refugees in Finland. In addition to this, we are currently preparing an additional contribution to cover current needs and assist with reconstruction. The contribution, subjected parliamentary approval, will be approximately EUR 70 million. We have also made the decision today to send additional military equipment to Ukraine,” Marin said at the High-Level International Donor Conference for Ukraine in Warsaw on Thursday.
Finland is ready to tighten sanctions against the Russian Federation in connection with the aggression against Ukraine, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in an interview with Yle Ykkösaamu.
“Every day people die in Ukraine. We have to make the war stop. We have to be prepared to be flexible in our own daily lives,” she said.
“Finland supports tougher sanctions, including those covering energy policy,” she explained, adding that rising energy prices would not deter sanctions.
“45 days of war is 45 days more than necessary. Russia is waging a dishonorable war, cruel and inhumane, and it must stop,” Marin said.
The Ukrainian national team has gained a victory over Finland as part of the selection match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The match ended with the victory of Ukraine with a score of 2:1.
Earlier it was reported that the Ukrainian national team will play in the selection matches with France, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kazakhstan.
Since Monday, August 9, the Finnish authorities have opened an entrance for tourists from Ukraine, according to an interactive resource of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
“From August 9, 2021, passenger traffic between Finland and Ukraine will be normalized. All citizens of Ukraine [without exceptions] who arrive in Finland on a direct flight from Ukraine, or in transit through countries that are also included in a ‘green list’ of Finland, will be allowed to enter the territory of the country. However, quarantine requirements remain in force,” the message says.
It is specified that, in particular, all persons arriving from any third countries (including Ukraine) and who have completed a full course of vaccination against COVID-19 are exempt from mandatory testing and quarantine, provided that 14 days have passed since inoculation with the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Finland recognizes the following vaccines: Comirnaty (Pfizer-BionTech), COVID-19 Vaccine Spikevax (formerly Moderna), Vaxzevria (formerly COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca), COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen (Johnson& Johnson), BnsonIBP Sinopharm COVISHIELD, CoronaVac,” the Foreign Ministry said.
They emphasize that citizens of Ukraine who do not have confirmation of the full course of vaccination while crossing the state border of Finland must provide a certificate confirming the receipt of the first dose of the vaccine, which is recognized by Finland (it is mandatory to undergo a PCR test within 72 hours after arriving in Finland), a certificate confirming a negative result of a PCR test made in Ukraine, which was made no later than 72 hours before crossing the border (in this case, it is mandatory to undergo a PCR test 72 hours after arrival in Finland).
“Without the presence of the above documents or in the presence of confirmation that the person has had COVID-19, citizens of Ukraine will be sent to undergo a PCR test at the border control point. It is mandatory to undergo a PCR test within 72 hours after arriving in Finland,” the ministry said.
The ministry said that taking two PCR tests after arriving in Finland is free for all travelers.
President of Finland Sauli Väinämö Niinistö has assured Ukraine of support in the area of energy sector reforms, in particular renewable ones.
“We are cooperating in the energy sector. We are interested in cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources and, I think, it will be for the benefit of both states. Therefore, we are ready to share our knowledge in this area,” he said at a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
He emphasized that Finland had also done a lot of work on forests.
“For the forests not only contribute to the economy, but also improve the life of society,” Niinistö added.
