Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) visited Kyiv on Wednesday. This was his second visit to Ukraine since taking office two years ago, following a visit to Kyiv in August 2023.
At that time, Orpo met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and took part in the Crimea Platform summit. This time, there was no meeting with Zelensky, as he was in Berlin meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – who held talks with Orpo and President Alexander Stubb in Finland a day earlier.
Plans for an international civil protection coalition
The purpose of Orpo's visit was to sign several agreements with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, paving the way for closer cooperation between the two countries on issues such as energy and education.
The key event of the day, however, was the establishment of a civil defence coalition. The idea of a coalition with Finland was suggested by Ukrainian politicians after visits to Finnish civilian shelters.
The aim is to help Ukraine expand its bomb shelter network, which now covers only 47 percent of the population.
"We’ve helped Ukraine draw up a civil protection strategy, i.e. where, what, and what kind of construction will be done [to improve] the existing infrastructure. This will require expertise from Finnish companies," Orpo told Finnish reporters on Wednesday.
The two countries agreed to intensify cooperation on the issue during Zelensky's visit to Helsinki in March, and have called on other countries to join the civil protection coalition.
Orpo visited an underground evacuation shelter at a school in Kyiv.
"It shows how people continue life here in the midst of war, trying to make it possible for children and young people to go to school, Orpo commented to Yle reporter Maxim Fedorov.
Hamburgers and a rescue dog
In the morning, Orpo visited Finnish fast-food company Hesburger's production and logistics facilities in Boryspil, near Kyiv, which opened in March.
Afterwards, Orpo laid a wreath at a memorial wall for the war dead and met with the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
In the afternoon, Orpo visited a residential suburb of Kyiv that was hit by a Russian airstrike on 24 April. Twelve people were killed and 90 injured in the attack.
There, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko introduced Orpo to Zenit, a six-year-old German shepherd who rescued one person from the rubble after the April attack.