On August 23, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held six bilateral meetings in Kyiv with the heads of state and government of the Nordic and Baltic countries after the conclusion of the Ukraine–Nordic and Baltic Countries Summit. This was reported by the website of the President of Ukraine, UNN writes.
Details
Zelenskyy met with the presidents of Lithuania and Finland, as well as the prime ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Norway. The head of state thanked the partners for their unwavering support for Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale aggression.
The main topic of the talks was strengthening Ukraine’s air defense and work on anti-ballistic protection, particularly within the FREYJA project.
Partners discussed energy and defense production
The meetings placed particular emphasis on preparing Ukraine for the winter period. Zelenskyy stressed the need to strengthen the resilience of the energy system and thanked the partners for the decisions already adopted and the assistance being prepared.
Ukraine and Norway signed the Drone Deal and the "Elizabeth" agreement23.08.26, 22:56
Another area of the talks was defense production. The parties discussed implementing the agreements already concluded within the framework of the Drone Deal, as well as preparing new agreements with countries with which negotiations on cooperation are still ongoing.
Ukraine’s European integration was also among the priorities. According to the Office of the President, the Nordic and Baltic countries continue to support Ukraine on its path toward joining the European Union.
Zelenskyy also raised the issue of Ukraine’s financial stability and the funding deficit in the defense budget, which arose due to the need to finance urgent needs.
According to him, the $27 billion deficit could be covered by moving to 2026 part of the European credit financing planned for 2027. In particular, approximately €10 billion is needed to provide Ukrainian troops with weapons in January and February, which are already in production.