Ukraine has signed seven deals with Finland, including deals to expand kyiv’s use of Finnish satellite capacity through Nokia and ICEYE after recent Starlink disruptions revealed how much the country’s defense depends on a single private provider that can restrict service without prior warning.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced these agreements in a statement on Thursday, October 22, after having held discussions with the government of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. The documents, signed at the Ukrainian-Finnish Business Forum, outline possible cooperation in defense production, rail transport, energy and housing construction, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said.
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“We agreed that we would make greater use of Finland’s satellite capabilities,” Zelensky said. “This is important for our defense and for Ukraine’s resilience.”
The total estimated value of the deals reached today is almost 300 million euros (approximately $337 million).
Finland donates locomotives to Ukraine
Among these agreements, Finland committed to handing over 10 Dv12 diesel locomotives and their spare parts free of charge to Ukraine’s national railway operator, Ukrzaliznytsia.
Rail transport has become one of Ukraine’s most vital lifelines, with the country’s airspace closed to civilian flights starting in February 2022. Ukrainian citizens rely heavily on trains for travel, and the railway also transports critical goods, including food deliveries, across the country, making it a frequent target for Russian forces.
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According to Koretskyi, Finland became the first country to donate locomotives to Ukraine free of charge.
Earlier this week, Estonia confirmed that it would send a significant number of locomotives to Ukraine. Although Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha did not provide additional information on the cargo, he said on Tuesday (October 20) that during his talks with Estonia he had “underlined our urgent needs to strengthen Ukraine’s defense and resilience before winter, with a particular focus on Russian strikes against our railways.”
The appeal for rail aid was initially made in mid-September, when Sybiha urged allies to provide Ukraine with replacement locomotives after a Russian strike hit rail infrastructure a few kilometers from the Polish border in the Volyn region, in what may have been a deliberate attack on a train carrying diplomats.
Western allies were asked in particular to help find locomotives compatible with the 1,520 millimeter rail gauge used by Ukraine, as well as to provide funds to accelerate the acquisition of new locomotives.
Since the start of the large-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 500 locomotives, more than half of which were recorded this year alone, according to Sybiha estimates.
Mykola Kalashnyk, Ukraine’s Minister of Catering, Infrastructure and Transport, said on August 23 that Russia has attacked Ukraine’s railway infrastructure at least 1,534 times so far in 2026.
Joint drone production and gas storage also explored
Ukrainian drone manufacturers are also planning to expand joint production with Finnish companies on Finnish soil, Koretskyi said.
Furthermore, employers’ associations of the two countries plan to create a Ukrainian-Finnish industrial council, while another project focuses on the construction of industrial housing.
The two governments also agreed to share experiences in protecting critical infrastructure and discussed Ukraine’s need for mobile shelters.
At the same time, Kyiv invited Finland to join its War Risk Insurance Fund.
“We hope that Finnish companies will become key investors and long-term partners of Ukraine,” Koretskyi said. “Together we can create products, technologies and businesses that will be competitive in Ukraine and across Europe. »
Ukraine’s large unused gas storage capacity and the development of the gas transportation system were also on the agenda, with both sides discussing how they could help Europe build strategic non-commercial gas reserves.
The discussions come as the EU moves to completely cut off Russian gas.
According to the European Commission, the EU’s dependence on gas imported from Russia has fallen from 45% of total imports to 12% in 2025, while all imports of Russian coal have been banned under EU sanctions.
“The 35 billion cubic meters of Russian gas still imported into the EU each year will be withdrawn from our markets in less than two years,” the EC said on its official website.
In January 2026, EU member states finally approved a law banning Russian gas imports by the end of 2027, despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, both of which remain heavily dependent on Russian energy.
Under the law, imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) will end by the end of 2026 and those of the pipeline by September 30, 2027. According to the Baltic Times, Brussels constructed the trade ban and energy legislation rather than sanctions, which require unanimity, so that they cannot be blocked by Budapest and Bratislava.
Europe looks beyond Starlink
The deals with Finland come as Ukraine and its European partners seek alternatives to Starlink, the satellite service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
On the night of October 13-14, speed restrictions were imposed at Starlink terminals without prior warning, crippling Ukrainian drone operations. These limits have disrupted several types of drones that Ukraine uses to defend against Russian attacks, including interceptor drones deployed against the Shahed jets.
Connectivity was lost on terminals moving around 160 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour) or faster, while Ukraine needed operating speeds to reach at least 450 kilometers per hour (280 miles per hour).
The restrictions coincided with a week-long suspension of US intelligence sharing, which left kyiv without allied warnings about Russian ballistic missile attacks.
Zelensky accused officials of deliberately restricting service during the Russian attacks, saying the disruptions had weakened Ukraine’s defenses and, in doing so, put civilians at risk.
After meeting with US envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo on Tuesday, October 20, Zelensky confirmed that intelligence sharing had resumed. He added that progress on Starlink restrictions and Patriot interceptors could be made within 48 hours.
Separately, on Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance said Musk should not be at the center of the dispute over restrictions on Ukraine’s satellite service, instead viewing the issue as one of US policy towards the Russian war.
“Well, I think Elon Musk basically runs a private company, and I think it’s completely understandable that he doesn’t want to find himself in the middle of what is a war between two state actors without the U.S. government actually telling him what to do,” he said, leaving unanswered who ordered the restrictions.
Musk and the White House have denied responsibility for the restrictions, while placing blame on the other.
Meanwhile, the European Union is negotiating Ukraine’s access to its secure satellite communications program, which could expand the system to commercial services in early 2027.
Currently, Europe does not have ready-made replacements that Ukrainian troops could immediately attach to their drones, and political pressure to develop alternatives is growing.
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