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Finland, a candidate for NATO member, did not rule out supplying Ukraine with F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets. However, Finland did not promise such supplies. Photo/REUTERS
HELSINKI – Finland, a potential member of NATO, opens supply options Ukraine with F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets for the fight against the invasion Russia .
Finnish Prime Minister (PM) Sanna Marin has not ruled out such a move.
“We have made the decision to get new fighters, and yes, I think we can discuss what we are going to do with this fleet that we are leaving behind,” Marin told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat when asked about the fate of the F/S fighter jets. A-18 Hornet.
In a separate report, Helsingin Sanomat reported that Ukraine has submitted a formal request for trilateral negotiations between Kiev, Washington, and Helsinki to discuss the transfer of F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets from Finland.
The request comes weeks after PM Marin met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.
During the March 10 visit, Marin was quoted by the Finnish Broadcasting Company as saying he would consider providing Ukraine with decommissioned F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, but backed down days later saying; “Nobody promised Ukraine a Finnish Hornet jet.”
During his interview with Helsingin Sanomat, PM Marin still did not promise to provide fighter jets, but did not rule out doing so.
“This is a question that needs to be examined very carefully,” Marin said, before mentioning that Finland should consider its own security given it shares a broad border with Russia.
Helsingin Sanomat asked about the proposal put forward by Ukraine regarding the transfer of fighter jets. Marin said he could not go into details of what he considered a “secret matter”.
