Finland preparing '12th aid package' to Ukraine: Defense Minister

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Jan 18:32

Finland’s Defense Minister, Mikko Savola, announces that the Finnish government is preparing its "12th aid package" for Ukraine.

The new M-23 rifle system procured by Finland (Finnish Ministry of Defense)

The Finnish government is preparing its ‘12th aid package’ for Ukraine, Finland’s Defense Minister, Mikko Savola, announced.

The details of the aid package have yet to be agreed upon, but the Minister claimed that any “aid package would not jeopardize Finland's own defenses.”

Suomi tukee Ukrainaa. Valmistelemme 12. apupakettia. Päätökset tehdään lähiviikkoina. Tuen sisältöä valmistellaan yhdessä Puolustusvoimien kanssa katsoen, ettemme heikennä omaa puolustuskykyämme. 1/2
— Mikko Savola (@MikkoTSavola) January 7, 2023

It is worth noting that Finland has supported Ukraine through €189.2m in funding for military purposes, as well as €29m in alleged additional development funds.

While the #West failed #Ukraine on the battleground, it still sent a colossal amount of weapons and intelligence tools to the Nazi regime in its war with #Russia. pic.twitter.com/5GsPOgfV7O
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 9, 2022

Though information about the packages has been a closely guarded secret since shipments to Ukraine began, it is believed that anti-tank weapons, crew transport trucks, assault rifles, and ammo are all on the list, according to media reports.

This is happening despite warnings that weapons transferred to Ukraine may have made their way back to Finland and ended up in the hands of the criminal underground, particularly motorcycle gangs (NBI), according to a recent report released by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation.

It is worth noting that Finland will continue to train Ukrainian nationalists in the United Kingdom, with approximately 20 Finnish instructors participating until the end of 2023.

The initiative was first proposed last June by outgoing UK PM Boris Johnson with the offer to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days.

Finland is still on its way to gaining full membership in the NATO coalition. Finland and Sweden handed in their bids to join the US-led military alliance NATO last May. Twenty-eight of NATO's 30 member states have ratified their requests. Hungary and Turkey are the only two not to have done so.