Norden leaders vow to counter Russia´s invasion of Ukraine

Leaders of the Nordic countries on Friday vowed to counter Russia’s war of aggression and reaffirmed unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.

The leaders in a joint statement issued from Nordic-Ukrainian Summit held Stockholm also expressed their optimism to individually and jointly continue to strengthen Ukraine’s air defence, maritime and land warfare capabilities.

“We are committed to countering Russia’s war of aggression by constraining its influence, freedom of action and ability to do harm, including through sanctions and measures to prevent their circumvention, and measures to ensure accountability,” said the statement issued by the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland and the Presidents of Ukraine and Finland, according to Finnish President Office.

The Nordic countries have thus far provided Ukraine with more than EUR 17 billion in military, financial and humanitarian support, said the leaders, adding that they were committed to continuing their efforts to provide immediate and long-term support to Ukraine, with the aim of helping Ukraine prevail.

“The conclusion of bilateral agreements on security commitments with Ukraine by all the Nordic countries is a manifestation of our resolve to develop deep and comprehensive security cooperation and to maintain our support for the long term. Together with the signatories of the G7 Declaration on long-term support to Ukraine, we send a clear signal that Ukraine can count on us for as long as it is needed,” they said.

“We will continue to contribute to training, provide equipment, support joint procurement, and make financial contributions so as to alleviate Ukraine’s acute needs and contribute to building Ukraine’s future defence forces,” said the statement.

According to the statement, the leaders will work with Ukraine to increase its defence industry production.

“In particular, we will jointly strive to increase Ukraine’s and our own production capacity to meet Ukraine’s needs for battle-decisive munitions. We will work to identify opportunities for the further development and transformation of Ukraine’s defence industry into a strong and effective tool for its defence against Russia’s war of aggression, and to deter future attacks,” they added.

The statement said that Ukraine deserves a just and lasting peace based on international law, including the UN Charter, that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

“We will participate at the highest level in the Summit on Peace in Ukraine to be held in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, on 15–16 June, and are contributing to efforts to ensure broad global participation,” the statement added.

The Nordic leaders will also continue to support Ukraine on its path from early to long-term recovery and align assistance with Ukraine’s European integration.

“Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. We will continue to support Ukraine on its path towards membership. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening NATO’s support to, and relationship with, Ukraine. We support a greater role for NATO in the coordination of security assistance and training, with a view to consolidating long-term support and to building a bridge for Ukraine’s future NATO membership,” the leaders said in the statement.

The third Nordic-Ukraine summit is a continuation of the meeting hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in December 2023 in Oslo and the meeting in Helsinki in May 2023 hosted by the then Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö.