The Finnish government has decided to allocate €100 million for the purchase of weapons from the US for transfer to Ukraine, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced on Thursday.
“On Thursday, the government decided to allocate €100 million to support Ukraine by purchasing weapons from the US. This is a NATO-coordinated support package called PURL. Finland is participating in a joint support package for the Baltic and Northern European countries, which is planned to be delivered to Ukraine in the near future,” the Finnish prime minister said, as quoted by the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.
“The situation in Ukraine is critical. Yes, we must participate. We cannot stand aside when all the countries of Northern Europe and the Baltic States are involved,” he stressed.
According to Orpo, the funding will be provided through external borrowing and Finland’s budget will not be revised, “even though it will increase the debt.”
The initiative to finance the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine came after the US administration refused to continue supplying weapons to Kyiv free of charge. In August, four packages of American weapons were prepared for a total amount of about $2 billion. The financing was provided by Germany, Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
On August 15, at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Luxembourg, Finland, and Iceland announced their decision to join the program. In October, Spain also announced its participation.
Spain has agreed to join the PURL project to purchase American weapons for Ukraine, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in response to renewed criticism from US President Donald Trump over Spain’s unwillingness to increase military spending.
“We are a reliable country,” Sanchez said upon arrival at the European Council, where he also confirmed that Spain would purchase weapons from the US for Ukraine, El Pais reported on Thursday.
According to the publication, the country will participate in the US arms supply program (PURL), but the exact amount that Madrid is willing to spend has not yet been determined.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said that the Foreign Ministry will play a role in relation to potential partners in the controlled export of Ukrainian weapons.
“Support for our defense industry is an absolute priority for our diplomacy. It includes three priorities. The first is more investment. The second is support for the president’s initiative on the possibility of exporting surplus products from our defense industry,“ Sybiga said during his opening remarks at the third International Defense Industry Forum (DFNC3) on Monday.
According to Sybiga, the Foreign Ministry ”will play its role here with regard to potential partners.”
“Those countries that today take a passive position on supporting Ukraine, that provide covert or overt support for Russian aggression, will certainly not be included in the list of partners who will be able to cooperate with Ukraine and Ukrainian companies in this area,” the head of the ministry said.
The third priority of the Foreign Ministry in supporting the Ukrainian defense industry, Sibiga added, is “to create a real multiplier effect from our weapons.” In particular, this refers to the creation of jobs for Ukrainian citizens in Ukraine.
“This, by the way, is also our integration into the European Union. The latest Eurobarometer says that it is precisely because of our contribution to security that we are most eagerly awaited as a future member of the EU,” the minister added.
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The production of Ukrainian weapons will be organized in Lithuania, according to an agreement reached at a meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry’s press service reported on Tuesday.
“During the meeting between Lithuanian Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalenė and Ukrainian Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal, a bilateral Protocol of Intent on the production of Ukrainian weapons in Lithuania was signed, and the types of weapons to be produced and further steps were discussed,” the ministry said in a statement on its website.
It is noted that the document “provides for joint production of defense industry products, technology transfer, project development, and localization of production in Lithuania.”
“This will pave the way for long-term partnership, strengthening collective European security, and creating sustainable supply chains,” the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said.
According to Šakalėnė, Lithuania remains firmly committed to further supporting Ukraine. According to the minister, “in the coming years, it is planned to allocate more than EUR 200 million to support Ukraine for projects related to armaments, anti-drone systems, demining, rehabilitation, training, and support for Ukraine’s defense industry.” The Lithuanian Defense Minister also announced in Kyiv that Lithuania intends to contribute up to EUR 30 million to the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) initiative.
The minister also met with the leadership of the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense experts to discuss emerging challenges, lessons learned, and innovations in the field of air defense.
“We discussed Ukraine’s latest decisions in response to the changing situation with air threats and technological innovations. I want to ensure the most effective cooperation possible in strengthening our air defense and responding to the changing technologies and methods used by Russia. We agreed to hold regular expert consultations on the application of practical experience to strengthen our air defense,” Shakalene said.
According to her, “it is extremely important to strengthen airspace surveillance in order to detect Russian drones heading for Belarus as early as possible, which may subsequently violate Lithuanian airspace. To this end, it was agreed to exchange information between representatives of our air forces.”
Denmark and Germany have agreed to participate in the new format of arms supplies to Kyiv proposed by US President Donald Trump, while France, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Hungary have refused, Western media reported on Wednesday.
In addition, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Europe increasingly feels the need to end its dependence on US weapons.
“Europe is heavily dependent on the US defense industry. However, due to trade tariffs, President Trump’s attitude toward NATO and his lack of commitment to defending the alliance’s countries, European countries will increasingly prioritize investments in their own defense systems,” the agency’s sources said.
According to the European portal Politico, France has refused to participate in the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine. The publication’s sources said that instead, the government intends to focus on increasing its own defense budget, which President Emmanuel Macron promised last weekend to almost double by 2027 compared to the 2017 budget.
In addition, Paris wants to support European manufacturers who previously supplied Ukraine with anti-missile systems and other weapons.
Italy also has no plans to purchase weapons from the US for delivery to Ukraine, but will continue to provide military assistance to Kyiv. Unnamed representatives of the Ministry of Defense told the newspaper La Stampa that there had never been any talks about purchasing American weapons for Kyiv.
In addition, the newspaper notes that Italy does not have the funds to carry out operations of this kind. According to the newspaper’s sources, the problem is so acute that the only purchase from the US planned by Italy for the next ten years is a batch of F-35 fighter jets for its own needs.
The Czech government, in turn, said that military aid to Kyiv would continue, but through participation in other initiatives and purchases from Czech, not American, manufacturers.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that Budapest does not intend to participate in the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine.
Berlin and Copenhagen have so far given their official consent to purchase weapons from the US. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Rasmussen said he was fully prepared to join the funding.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry, in turn, said it was considering participating in the program. However, despite the government’s positive assessment of the initiative, Amsterdam has not yet confirmed its commitment to direct participation.
According to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Sweden, Norway, and the United Kingdom are also expected to join the funding.
On July 11, Trump announced that US NATO allies would purchase weapons from Washington, which could then be transferred to Ukraine.
During a press conference with Trump on Monday, Rutte called it “logical” that European countries would pay for US arms deliveries to Ukraine.
European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday that EU countries would prefer Washington to provide part of its military aid to Ukraine free of charge. “If we pay for these weapons, it means that we, not the US, are providing this military aid,” Callas said at a press conference in Brussels. She stressed that Brussels “would like to see these costs shared.”
Weapons production in Ukraine doubled in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
“In 2023, arms production in Ukraine tripled. In the first eight months of this year, we increased production by another two times compared to the previous year. Today we are producing a quantity of weapons that would have seemed impossible in 2022,” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the second International Defense Industries Forum (DFNC2).
The Prime Minister noted that the draft state budget for 2025 allocates 65% more funds for the production of weapons and military equipment, which is an increase of almost UAH 300 billion.
“This means that next year there will be even more Ukrainian drones, missiles, ammunition, vehicles, artillery, and everything else we need for defense,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
Shmyhal said that Ukraine would produce 1.5 million drones in 2024, which was made possible, in part, by the involvement and support of private companies. “We have created a market for drones, and next year this number and capacity will be even greater… We are also creating a market for ammunition,” the Prime Minister added.
Among other things, the Prime Minister said that the government is forming a mechanism for long-term contracts for weapons manufacturers; building a new architecture for military procurement; expanding locations for weapons production, including the creation of underground sites.
Shmyhal said that the priorities for production include: various types of drones, including ground-based robotic systems; a full-fledged missile program, including ballistic weapons; expanding the production of all types of shells; artillery systems and various types of armored vehicles.
In addition, he said, the government is investing in the development of electronic warfare.
