Finland will send another defence shipment to Ukraine, the Nordic country announced on Thursday, following an arms delivery three weeks ago.
“Finland will send more defence materiel assistance to Ukraine,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
“To ensure that the assistance reaches its destination, more detailed information on the content of the assistance, manner of delivery or schedule will not be provided,” the statement said.
Zelenskiy says Ukraine deserves to be full member of EU
Ministry adviser Miikka Pynnonen declined to tell AFP if the aid included weapons.
Four days after Russia invaded Ukraine Finland broke with its long-held principle of not supplying arms to war zones and announced that it would send anti-tank weapons, assault rifles and ammunition to Kyiv.
Several countries including Sweden, the UK and Germany have this week announced new shipments to Ukraine, following requests by president Volodymyr Zelensky for the EU and NATO to increase its military assistance.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has set off alarm bells in Finland, which was part of the Russian empire for more than 100 years; fought two wars with Moscow over the last century; and which shares a 1,340km (830 mile) land border with Russia.
Finland was forced by the Kremlin into remaining outside any western defence cooperation during the Cold War, and since then has remained militarily non-aligned, although it joined the European Union in 1995.
But Russia’s assault on Ukraine has seen Finnish public support for joining NATO rise above 50 percent for the first time, according to a series of recent polls.
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