President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Stockholm on 31 May to participate in the third Ukraine-Northern Europe Summit. During his visit, he is set to sign three security agreements that will solidify projected long-term defense and multifaceted support from the Northern European allies.
On his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy highlighted key priorities for Ukraine at the summit, including securing more air defense, establishing joint defense productions, and ensuring weapon supplies for Ukrainian troops. Additionally, the global effort to compel Russia towards peace will be discussed.
The President says he is scheduled to meet with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and Icelandic Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson. Bilateral and multilateral discussions are planned within the summit format.
Zelenskyy will also meet with King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and representatives from defense companies during his visit to Stockholm.
“Today, Ukraine will sign three security agreements at once, which will fix the projected defense and other comprehensive support for a long period of time,” Zelenskyy wrote.
The Ukrainian President did not name specific countries slated to sign the agreements, but given previous security pacts with Denmark and Finland, it is likely that Sweden, Norway, and Iceland will be involved.
Ukraine’s security agreements
In March 2023, Zelenskyy said that if Ukraine could not become a NATO member during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, it would like to receive strategic security guarantees. Later in Vilnius, leaders from the G7, along with the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, endorsed a “Joint Declaration on Support for Ukraine” at the G7 summit, committing to specific long-term security collaborations with Ukraine.
This year, Kyiv focused on signing bilateral security pacts with its allies.
On 12 January 2024, Ukraine signed its first security pact with the United Kingdom. Subsequently, President Zelenskyy signed two more security guarantees with Germany and France on 16 February. On 23 February, Ukraine and Denmark agreed on a security cooperation and long-term support pact between the nations. The following day, Ukraine entered into bilateral security agreements with Italy and Canada. A security agreement with Finland was signed on 3 April, and a similar pact with Spain was signed on 27 May. The next day, Ukraine signed the pact with Belgium, and later with Portugal.
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