The State Duma assessed Finland's plans to finance the Armed Forces of Ukraine from frozen assets of the Russian Federation

Finland's plans to transfer €90 million from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine for the purchase of heavy ammunition look very strange against the background of talks about a truce and may be an attempt to put pressure on Russia. This opinion was expressed by State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova on Monday, May 19.

"It seems to me that this is still an attempt to pressure, although they can certainly finance, but at the same time, especially now, it certainly looks very strange against the background of negotiations," the politician said in an interview with Lenta.Ru .

Zhurova wondered whether Ukraine is preparing for a truce, or, conversely, is preparing to expand the military conflict.

Sanctions pressure: the EU allows the introduction of the 19th package of measures against the Russian Federation

There will be no quick lifting of restrictions even if the situation in Ukraine is resolved.

On this day, the Finnish Ministry of Defense announced that the Finnish government had signed an agreement with the European Commission (EC) on the supply of €90 million worth of heavy ammunition to Ukraine, the purchase of which would be financed from frozen Russian assets, NSN reports.

On May 9, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal announced that Denmark, France and Italy would purchase weapons for Kiev for € 1 billion, RT reports. He recalled that on that day, the EU announced its intention to allocate almost €1.9 billion from the frozen assets of the Russian Federation for military support of the Kiev regime.

After that, on May 14, the AFP news agency reported that the EU ambassadors had agreed on the 17th package of sanctions against Russia. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said on May 15 that the European Union would immediately begin developing the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in turn, did not rule out that the new package may include a provision on the possibility of disposing of frozen assets of the Russian Federation in Europe.