Finnish President Compares Cost of Military Operations in Iran to Annual Aid to Ukraine
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb said the first week of fighting in Iran cost about $40 billion, almost the same as European countries’ annual spending on supporting Ukraine. He made the remarks during a state visit to India in an interview with Bloomberg.
Stubb stressed that the war in Ukraine could have ended sooner if Kyiv had received air defense systems similar to those deployed in the Persian Gulf region during the first week of the conflict. According to his estimates, the total support for Ukraine by European countries since 2022 is approximately 290-350 billion dollars.
The Finnish president also noted that Ukraine could gain some benefits from the conflict in the Middle East. He explained that due to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s response, “Iran and Russia cannot currently cooperate in the field of missile and defense industries”.
In addition, Stubb believes that the shift of the world community’s attention to Iran could create new opportunities for diplomatic initiatives regarding Ukraine, providing “space for negotiators to reach some kind of solution without undue attention”.
