Finland won’t join NATO’s new weapons procurement program for Ukraine, opting instead to rely on its own defense industry. Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen has announced that his country is focusing on a domestic industrial program, Yle reports.
Amid increased Russian attacks, the US and NATO are jointly developing a new scheme to deliver arms to Ukraine, now funded by Europe but drawn from American arsenals. The goal is to raise $10 billion to support Ukraine’s defense as Moscow escalates the war.
“We have allocated our resources to an internal industrial program, under which we place orders for Ukraine from companies across Finland,” he states.
A decision to back local industry — and still help Ukraine
Häkkänen emphasizes that the program was developed in cooperation with Ukraine to provide “maximum support” and that other countries understand Finland’s approach, especially given its shared border with Russia.
“We continue to support Ukraine with strong commitment and energy, but now we are prioritizing production by domestic companies,” he adds.
Different approaches within NATO with one common goal
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Sweden, Norway, and Denmark had allocated over $500 million to buy weapons for Ukraine through NATO’s new procurement mechanism. Finland has chosen a different vector, but its support remains consistent and strategically vital.