Finland to supply ammunition to Ukraine using funds from frozen Russian assets

 Finland will supply €90M ($101.3M) worth of ammunition to Ukraine by using proceeds from Russian assets frozen by the European Union, the Nordic nation's defense ministry has announced.

"We were able to negotiate additional funding for Finland's support for Ukraine," Antti Häkkänen, Finnish defense minister, said. "The funds come from frozen Russian assets. The products are purchased from Finnish industry to boost employment at home and sent to Ukraine to help its defense."

The EU, the U.S. and allies have frozen over $300B worth of Russian sovereign assets since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The European Commission last year decided to use the proceeds from the frozen assets to support Ukraine's defense.

Russia has not responded to Finland's announcement, but previously said any effort to sell its frozen assets would be illegal and threatened retaliatory seizure of Western assets.

In other news, Russia has been beefing up military infrastructure near the Finnish border, The New York Times reported, citing recent satellite imagery. NATO officials said the moves, which include setting up new tents and new warehouses for military vehicles, appear to be the early stages of a larger, longer-term expansion.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/finland-to-supply-ammunition-to-ukraine-using-funds-from-frozen-russian-assets/ar-AA1F7sqV