Ukraine is set to receive €90 million ($101.35 million) worth of ammunition from Finland, as per a press release from the Finnish Ministry of Defence on Monday.
The ammunition will be sourced using Russian financial assets that had been frozen by the European Union just after Moscow began its special military operation in Kyiv, in February 2022.
The ammunition will be of Finnish origin, for which the Russian-origin funds will be released via the European Peace Facility (EPF). The EU has estimated that $221.5 billion out of approximately $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets are held in the 27-nation bloc, primarily in the form of government bonds that the Bank of Russia, the nation's central bank, had stored as reserves, a Reuters report said.
The EU has also said that it expected these assets were capable of yielding about $16-$22 billion in interest earned by 2027 as well, subject to fluctuations in euro zone rates, a related report said.
“We were able to negotiate additional funding for Finland’s support for Ukraine ... The products are purchased from Finnish industry to boost employment at home and sent to Ukraine to help its defence. I am very pleased with the outcome,” the Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen explained, in the press release.
Although Russia has not properly responded to this, the utilisation of their own frozen assets, especially to aid Ukraine, is highly likely to incur legal and geopolitical trouble.
Reiterating Finland's “strong and unwavering” support for Ukraine, Häkkänen explained that the EU-sourced munitions package would be accompanied by a Finnish support programme worth €660 million ($741.6 million) to support, and “forge closer links between the Finnish industry and Finland's support” for the embattled nation.
“This is a great example of the Finnish defence industry’s abilities, and it shows that our investments into ammunition production capacity are paying off,” Häkkänen concluded.
