Nordic and Baltic countries pledged to keep supporting Ukraine for as long as Ukrainian needs require, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared his confidence that the Kremlin would ultimately lose the war. The remarks came at a ceremony marking Ukraine's State Flag Day, attended by leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries, according to Ukrainian news agency UNIAN, which covered the event.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Norway would maintain its support in 2027 at the same level as this year, roughly 9 billion US dollars, covering military, humanitarian and financial assistance. He said the aid would match Ukraine's priorities, with Ukraine determining its needs and Norway doing everything possible to meet them.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he believed Ukraine was the strongest security guarantee for everyone, and said Ukraine would continue to receive support for its important needs.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Ukraine had already achieved what many had considered impossible, and said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had made a mistake in starting the war. She said Denmark and the Nordic countries had supported Ukraine from the beginning, knowing the war could not be won with words alone, so they supplied weapons and ammunition when they were urgently needed, delivered tanks and F-16 fighter jets when they were needed, and provided investment in Ukraine's own defence industry when required. She said that now, with Ukraine in urgent need of powerful air defence, the Nordic countries had to deliver on that promise too, and that they had jointly committed to rapidly developing a new missile system to build a shield over Ukrainian cities and strengthen Europe's defences. She said the support was not measured in months but by a simple pledge to continue for as long as it takes.
Zelensky on Ukraine's flag and history
Zelensky said 70 years of Soviet rule had not erased his people's memory of which flag was the genuine one for all Ukrainians. He said generations of Ukrainians had preserved knowledge of the national symbol from the era of the Cossacks and the Ukrainian People's Republic through to 1991, when independence was restored and what is considered normal today became possible.
He said that for Russia and Putin, the Ukrainian flag, its colours and the very existence of Ukraine had long been the greatest irritant, troubling them far more than the domestic problems facing millions of Russians.
He said Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 and again in February 2022 in an attempt to take away the flag, the country's symbols, its freedom and its independence.
Zelensky said Russia had come to take everything from Ukraine and had not abandoned that ambition. He said the massive strikes, terror and killings were driven by the maniacal dream of one person that Ukraine should cease to exist, and that the Kremlin was fixated on that goal but would ultimately lose precisely because of its failure to understand Ukraine, its people, and the fact that greater pressure only strengthened Ukrainian resistance. He said that for Ukrainians, life without their country was not life, and that Ukraine's subjugation was not an option, which is why all Ukrainians were fighting harder, refusing to give up their state, and defending their independence, Ukraine and the whole of Europe.
Outlook for ending the war
UNIAN reported that fewer than a quarter of Ukrainians believe the war with Russia could end this year, while more than half expect it to end in 2027 or later.
Zelensky said he believed a window of opportunity for ending the war in Ukraine with the involvement of the United States would remain open until the end of summer 2027.
