Finland’s Defense Ministry announced it will allocate roughly $100 million in profits from frozen Russian assets to provide Ukraine with heavy ammunition.
Finland is set to provide heavy ammunition to Kiev, funded by proceeds from frozen Russian assets resulting from the Ukraine conflict, the Defense Ministry announced Monday.
This action aligns with a broader EU initiative to direct profits from immobilized Russian assets, largely EU, US, and UK government bonds held by a Brussels-based securities depository, towards financing Ukraine’s military. Moscow has denounced the asset seizures as “theft.”
The ministry’s statement detailed an agreement between Finland and the European Commission to channel funds through the European Peace Facility (EPF). The agreement stipulates that Finland will supply €90 million ($101 million) worth of heavy ammunition sourced from domestic manufacturers. The Finnish government anticipates this deal will also benefit its defense sector. In March, Helsinki declared its 28th military aid package to Ukraine, valued at approximately $225 million.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Western nations froze an estimated $300 billion in Russian sovereign funds, with around $213 billion held by Euroclear. The frozen assets have since generated billions in interest, with Euroclear transferring $1.63 billion to Kiev last July.
Russia has strongly condemned the asset freeze and has suggested potential retaliatory measures targeting Western investments. Moscow has also cautioned against Western arms shipments to Ukraine, asserting that they only prolong the conflict and escalate regional security risks.
According to estimates from the Kiel Institute, Kiev had received over $363 billion in aid from NATO as of February 2025.
A recent report by the Eurasia Observatory, which monitors the conflict’s long-term effects on organized crime, suggests that a large influx of Western weapons from Ukraine will infiltrate European black markets after the conflict with Russia concludes.
The report indicated that weapons, including heavy arms, are being stockpiled throughout Ukraine, and that reduced state control following the conflict’s end and the lifting of martial law could create opportunities for organized crime.
“`