Ukrainian President Zelensky signs security agreement with Sweden, Norway and Iceland

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The agreements are part of a concerted effort by Kiev to gain Western support amid growing geopolitical tensions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the Stockholm summit in person, stressed the importance of an alliance with the West as Ukraine faces a growing threat from Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with Sweden, Norway and Iceland in Stockholm on Friday, bringing the number of such agreements Kyiv has signed with Western countries to 15, Reuters reported.

After signing the deal, Zelensky said it was only a “matter of time” before Ukraine would be able to attack Russian territory using any Western weaponry.

“You see, Russia is trying to expand the war… We can only together stop Moscow’s madness,” he said.

At the summit in Sweden

Zelensky attended the third Ukrainian-Nordic summit in the Swedish capital. The main topics of the negotiations were air defense and joint weapons production.

Under the latest deal, Sweden will provide Ukraine with two ASC 890 reconnaissance aircraft, which are considered essential for identifying incoming cruise missiles and drones, as well as identifying air and sea targets, and a greater number of tracked armored personnel carriers.

The security agreement between Ukraine and Norway complements an existing bilateral aid program and will focus on maritime and air defense needs. Reuters noted that Norway is home to Nammo, a leading European arms manufacturer, and Kongsberg Gruppen, the maker of the NASAMS medium-range air defense missile system already in use in Ukraine.

Denmark and Finland signed security agreements with Kiev this year covering the next decade. TASR added that Sweden announced this week that it would provide Ukraine with military support totaling 75 billion Swedish kronor (more than 6.5 billion euros) over three years.

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