Finland, Ukraine to expand drone cooperation, President says

Finland and Ukraine are expected to reach an agreement on drone cooperation soon, with Finland planning to send 90% of its drone production to Ukraine, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Monday.

“I think 90% of [Finland's] drone production will go to Ukraine, while 10% of production will remain in Finland,” Stubb said alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to mark Ukraine's Independence Day.

Stubb said the planned agreement would strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries.

He described the planned cooperation as mutually beneficial and compared it with Denmark's model of directly financing Ukrainian defense industry firms.

Stubb said defense cooperation between Finland and Ukraine covers five areas: maritime, air, land, cyber and space.

His delegation to Kyiv included representatives of seven Finnish defense companies. Patria, Insta and Boomeranger signed memorandums of understanding with Ukrainian companies on joint production.

Stubb said international support for Ukraine remained strong and expressed confidence that Ukraine would ultimately prevail in its war with Russia.

The Ukrainian capital is hosting a Coalition of the Willing meeting, bringing together countries supporting Ukraine, including the UK and France.