Zelenskyy arrives in Finland to discuss increased support ahead of counteroffensive

Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared the information during a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö.

"Why Finland? First, we are partners. Secondly, we will have a powerful Nordic countries summit today. It is very important, it is about strengthening regional security, security on our territory, strengthening our capabilities to protect ourselves, strengthening us on the battlefield. I will be frank with you. 15 packages are not numbers, not the number of weapons, but the number of lives saved," Ukraine’s president said.

According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he arrived in Finland to ensure that allied countries support Ukraine even more strongly on the eve of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sauli Niinistö, photo: REUTERS

The last time the leaders met was in January 2023, when Finnish President Sauli Niinistö visited Kyiv.

President’s spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov said that Volodymyr Zelenskyy would also take part in the Ukraine-Northern Europe summit. The meeting of the leaders of Ukraine and the five Nordic countries is organized to further coordinate military assistance to the country and Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

On the sidelines of the summit, the president of Ukraine will hold separate bilateral meetings with the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

• The Finnish authorities agreed to send Ukraine a new, 15th package of military assistance. This includes various types of weapons to meet the needs of a European training mission for Ukrainians.