Nordic, Baltic leaders vow to continue support for Ukraine

Leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries on Monday reiterated their unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, said the Finnish President Office in a press release.

The Presidents of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine and the Prime Ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in a joint statement issued at the Support Ukraine Summit also condemned Russia’s ongoing illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

“We reiterate our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Our main priority is to strengthen Ukraine. We will further bolster our support. To achieve a just and lasting peace Ukraine and Europe must take part in any future negotiations. Ukraine should be given strong security guarantees. And Europe needs to demonstrate its leadership. We are engaging with all NATO Allies and EU member states to achieve peace through strength,” said the leaders in the statement.

They said the outcome of the war will have fundamental and long-lasting effects on European and transatlantic security.

“The Nordic-Baltic countries are among the top contributors to Ukraine. So far, the Nordic-Baltic countries have provided Ukraine with more than 26 billion EUR in military, financial and humanitarian support. We pledge to provide more support to Ukraine, including air defence and ammunition. We pledge to invest more in Ukraine’s defence industry. And we pledge to provide equipment and training for a scalable brigade-sized unit. At the same time, we call upon Allies and partners to provide more military support to Ukraine as well,” the statement added.

The leaders said that they would continue to put maximum pressure on Russia, including through sanctions and measures against the shadow fleet to constrain Russia and its war machine.

“We underline that just and lasting peace will not be possible without accountability for Russia’s international crimes,” said the statement.

They also emphasised their support for Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.

“Together, we also continue to support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” the statement added.