Prime Minister Orpo: Ukraine’s success is an investment in the future of Europe

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo represented Finland at the Ukraine Recovery Conference and the Eastern Flank Summit in the Polish city of Gdańsk on Thursday 25 June.

The fifth Ukraine Recovery Conference once again focused on bolstering and coordinating support for Ukraine. The second Eastern Flank Summit, for its part, focused on improving Europe’s security and defence capabilities.

“Today’s conference demonstrated the strong commitment of all partners to supporting Ukraine. We must continue to support Ukraine – economically, militarily and politically – over the long term,” said Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

In connection with the conference, Prime Minister Orpo met bilaterally with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. Topics on the agenda for their discussions included strengthening comprehensive support for Ukraine, deepening bilateral cooperation and advancing Ukraine’s EU accession talks.

“The future of Europe and European security are being built in Ukraine. The successful reconstruction of Ukraine is a long-term investment. It benefits us all, and its impacts extend far beyond Ukraine,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

We will also continue our strong defence materiel assistance to Ukraine. We have delivered 33 defence materiel packages to Ukraine so far. Today, I had the honour of announcing that my Government has decided to allocate an additional EUR 40 million to the PURL initiative,” Prime Minister Orpo continued. 

The Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) is a NATO-led support mechanism that allows European Allies and Canada to finance Ukraine's purchases of defence materiel directly from the United States.

Finland is also committed to strengthening the resilience of Ukrainian society. The Civil Protection Shelter Coalition led jointly by Ukraine and Finland has already grown into a network of 16 members. It brings partners together to strengthen Ukraine’s national civil defence strategy, which protects civilians and saves lives.

At the conference, Finnvera and the Commission signed a letter of intent on the Strategic Investment and Support for Ukraine (SISU) initiative. The initiative will enable investments in projects that, in the current security and market situation, could not be implemented solely with market-based funding.

Nearly twenty Finnish companies and representatives of the business community also attended the conference in Gdánsk.

In connection with the conference, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also hosted the second Eastern Flank Summit. The summit was held for the first time in Helsinki in December 2025 at the initiative of Prime Minister Orpo.

At the summit, Prime Minister Orpo emphasised that recent drone incidents are one example of why cooperation between the countries on the Eastern Flank is needed. As Russia continues its war of aggression and Ukraine continues its justified efforts to defend itself, coordination and cooperation between the countries on the EU’s eastern border is becoming even more important.

“The Eastern Flank is the place where Russia’s long-term threat can be seen most concretely, and we are also preparing for it concretely. This summit of the easternmost EU Member States is an important forum because we can do more together. Together, we can also make our priorities more visible at the EU level. We must ensure that the EU’s future financial framework meets the current security and defence needs,” said Prime Minister Orpo.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978, Minna Kivimäki, State Secretary for EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 431 and Lauri Heikkinen, Senior Communications Specialist, tel. +358 46 923 5090, Prime Minister’s Office