President Zelenskyy arrives in Iceland for Ukraine-Nordic summit

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attended the fourth Ukraine-Nordic Summit in Iceland, during which he held talks with the Prime Ministers of Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.

In a statement released after his arrival, the Ukrainian president expressed deep gratitude to Iceland and the Nordic partner countries for their steadfast support of Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale war.

He highlighted Iceland’s crucial role in assisting Ukraine’s NATO ambitions, stating, “I am grateful to Iceland for supporting our country on the path to NATO. Inviting Ukraine to join the Alliance is the first point of the Victory Plan and a reliable way to achieve a just peace.”

Zelenskyy also emphasised the need for a united and decisive response to the involvement of North Korean troops in Russia’s war against Ukraine, raising concerns about Russia’s use of weapons supplied by both North Korea and Iran and underlining the urgency of a coordinated international effort to address these threats.

The summit’s discussions focused on support for Ukraine’s so-called ‘Victory Plan’, with the Nordic leaders reaffirming their ‘unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.’

Following the summit, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store announced that Norway will send Ukraine a fresh €500 million aid package, with more than half dedicated to military assistance.

Sweden has made a similar promise, pledging 729 million Swedish krona (roughly €63.3 million) in military aid to Ukraine.

In a joint statement, the five Nordic nations also outlined five key areas in which they would focus their assistance.

These included a promise of ongoing winter support in the form of energy, social resilience and humanitarian support packages, as well as a commitment to ensuring the ‘full and efficient implementation of the bilateral agreements on security cooperation and long-term support in close coordination with Ukraine.’

They also underlined their commitment to using frozen Russian assets to bolster Ukraine’s defence industry, welcoming ‘the agreement on the use of extraordinary revenues stemming from Russia’s immobilised assets to establish a macro-financial assistance loan to Ukraine’.

In addition to this, the leaders vowed to continue efforts to strengthen European ammunition production, outlining the substantial contributions already made in the form of bilateral and multilateral donations.

The issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership was also discussed, with all five Nordic nations pledging their support for Ukraine on ‘its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership’, along with the opening of EU accession negotiations.

The previous Ukraine-Nordic Summit was held in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in May this year.