Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is on a surprise visit to Finland on Wednesday to join Nordic leaders in discussing efforts to help his country against Russian aggression.
(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is on a surprise visit to Finland on Wednesday to join Nordic leaders in discussing efforts to help his country against Russian aggression.
The visit, announced by the office of Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto, comes as Finland is scheduled to host the premiers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland to talk about current security issues, Nordic cooperation and support for Ukraine.
Zelenskiy, who has made rare foreign visits since the start of the war, is scheduled to hold bilateral discussions with Niinisto and the Nordic prime ministers, followed by a joint summit. The leaders’ talks will include their support for Ukraine as well as the developments in its relationship with the European Union and NATO, and “Ukraine’s initiative for a just peace,” according to a statement from the Finnish president’s office.
Since December, the Nordic nations have increased their aid to Ukraine most notably among the international donors, with Finnish pledges of new aid rising 165% and Norwegian assistance increasing 90%, according to data compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The gathering in Helsinki follows Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization last month, one of the biggest shifts in the European security landscape sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s addition extended NATO’s border with Russia by more than 1,300 kilometers (800 miles), doubling its eastern flank.
Finland had applied to join the alliance together with Sweden, which was left behind in the process due to objections from Turkey and Hungary, keeping it out of the 31-member bloc as the last Nordic nation. Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstrom, said in April he hopes his country will join NATO before its upcoming Vilnius summit in July.
(Updates with details from statement.)
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