Before 1918, both Finland and Ukraine were part of the Russian Empire. In 1918, Finland was one of the first countries to recognise Ukraine and open a diplomatic mission in Kyiv. Finland once again recognised Ukraine on December 30, 1991. Both countries established diplomatic relations on February 26, 1992. Finland is a member of the European Union, which Ukraine applied for in 2022. Both countries are full members of Council of Europe.
In 3 April 2024, President of Finland Alexander Stubb and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a ten-year agreement on security cooperation and long-term support between Finland and Ukraine. It is said to be an indication of Finland's long-term commitment to supporting Ukraine.
The agreement covers several sectors such as political support and support for Ukraine's defense, security, reforms and reconstruction. Finland is the eighth country to sign a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine.
The value of defense material support provided by Finland is approximately 2 billion euros. In addition, Finland has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and development cooperation support of around 220 million euros, and through the EU rescue service mechanism, material aid worth around 18 million euros. In 2022-2023, the reception costs of Ukrainians who received temporary protection, counted as development cooperation, were around 550 million euros.
Finland has granted humanitarian aid to respond to an acute emergency and increased and adjusted development cooperation support so that it meets immediate needs and strengthens society in the midst of war.
Karelian National Battalion is a formation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, functioning as a component of the International Legion of Territorial Defence of Ukraine. The battalion is a voluntary military unit that consists mainly of ethnic Karelians and other Baltic-Finnic peoples.