Fælleserklæring om styrket sikkerheds- og forsvarssamarbejde

We, the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic States (NB8) and Ukraine –  Prime Minister of Estonia Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Latvia Andris Kulbergs, Prime Minister of Lithuania Inga Ruginienė, Prime Minister of Iceland Kristrún Frostadóttir, Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy – gathered in Tallinn on 9 June 2026, have agreed the following.

We reaffirm our commitment and unwavering support to Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and to the principle that borders must not be changed by force, in adherence to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and its inherent right of self-defence.

We strongly condemn Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified full-scale aggression against Ukraine, which has fundamentally changed the European security environment. Russia remains the most significant, long-term, and direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security.

We strongly condemn Belarus’ continued complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Belarus’ ongoing support to Russia’s military actions, contributes to the continuation of Russia’s aggression and undermines European security. This complicity highlights the importance of maintaining and strengthening sanctions against Belarusian individuals, companies and organizations that benefit from Russia’s war. 

Russia has reached a new and appalling level of aggression by intensifying its attacks against civilians.

We remain firm in our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We honour those killed, wounded or bereaved as a result of the Russian aggression.

We commend and support President Zelenskyy’s continued calls for an end to the war through negotiations. We remain dedicated to any diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine, and underscore that any such peace must be firmly rooted in international law and respect Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. Russia continues to reject genuine peace efforts. We urge Russia to agree to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire and engage in meaningful negotiations.

We acknowledge that a durable and sustainable peace requires robust, legally binding and credible security guarantees for Ukraine to effectively deter and prevent the renewal or repetition of aggression and ensuring long-term stability.

European security is indivisible and Ukraine’s security is inseparable from the security of the Euro-Atlantic community.

The future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union. The NB8 acknowledge Ukraine’s progress in implementing comprehensive reforms. Ukraine’s efforts in this regard must continue and we will continue supporting them in every way necessary. The Leaders welcome the progress achieved in Ukraine’s EU accession process and expressed their support for the opening of all negotiating clusters in June–July 2026 without further delay. Ukraine’s accession to the EU should be completed as soon as possible, while honouring the merit-based approach. Ukraine’s EU membership is one of the key security guarantees both for Ukraine and Europe.

We acknowledge the profound transformation of modern warfare and the necessity to strengthen defence readiness, resilience, and cooperation in response to existing and emerging threats. Ukraine is a strategic security partner to NATO, contributing directly to Euro-Atlantic security through its battlefield experience, technological innovation and industrial capacity. We support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. We look forward to Ukraine’s participation at the NATO Summit in Ankara. This summit should be effective for Ukraine, in particular in terms of strengthening its air-defence, including through Allies’ commitments to support Ukraine in receiving additional anti-ballistic systems and missiles.

Ukraine contributes to the security of its partners, just as partners contribute to Ukraine’s security. The NB8 remain among Ukraine’s strongest supporters. We call on all our partners to respond to Ukraine’s needs, both immediate and long-term, to ensure better burden sharing. As members of the Coalition of the Willing, we reaffirm our support and contributions. Support to Ukraine is an investment in the future security and stability of Europe.

We are determined to enhance Ukraine’s defence capabilities according to Ukraine’s needs, prioritising air defence, the maritime domain, drones and autonomous systems, sustainment, and logistics support. We recognise the importance of faster innovation cycles and closer links between operational needs, industry, and capability development.

We will strengthen our defence readiness and cooperation in order to contribute to the long-term stability and security of Europe. The outcome of the war in Ukraine will shape long-term European security.

Our enhanced cooperation will focus on integrating Ukrainian battlefield experience, on training and exercises, information sharing, and defence-industrial, innovation and technological cooperation. In this regard, we will promote joint production with Ukrainian companies, technology transfer, licensing arrangements, and the removal of bureaucratic obstacles. We welcome the cooperation on drones and other Ukrainian technologies proven on the battlefield, including Ukraine’s willingness to share data and export defence industry and technology for co-production with European partners. We will also work to strengthen European defence readiness and accelerate defence innovation. Defence industrial cooperation is a strategic security priority for Ukraine, the NB8 and NATO.

This Declaration reflects the shared determination of Ukraine and the NB8 to advance security and defence cooperation in a structured, practical, and forward-looking manner and to strengthen long-term stability, resilience, and security across Europe.