President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb, accompanied by his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb, visited Ukraine on 23 and 24 August 2026.
The presidential couple attended the official celebration of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence. President Stubb also participated in a Ukraine–Nordic–Baltic Summit and in a meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the Coalition of the Willing in support of Ukraine
Accompanying the presidential couple were Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces Janne Jaakkola and a business delegation consisting of representatives from Insta, Boomeranger, Patria, Nokia, ICEYE, Sensofusion and NestAI.
Three Finnish companies signed letters of intent with Ukrainian counterparts. According to President Stubb, the cooperation will benefit both Finland and Ukraine: “I would like to thank the companies for their leadership and courage.”
The leaders of the Nordic and Baltic States (NB8) gathered on Sunday 25 August at Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv to demonstrate their support for Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the meeting.
Following the Ukraine-Nordic-Baltic Summit, Presidents Stubb and Zelenskyy held a bilateral meeting in the palace gardens.
Official celebrations of the 35th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence were held on Sophia Square on Monday 24 August. The event featured an address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as musical performances.
During the ceremony, President Zelenskyy presented state honours to distinguished Ukrainians. In addition to soldiers, recipients included members of the police and rescue services, as well as artists, athletes, journalists, civil servants and volunteers. Family members of fallen Heroes of Ukraine received honours awarded posthumously on their behalf.
At the same ceremony, President Stubb was conferred the Order of Liberty of Ukraine for his contributions to strengthening Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence.
The Heads of State and Government of the Coalition of the Willing convened on Monday afternoon following the Independence Day celebrations.
“Our shared position is clear: support for Ukraine will continue, and pressure on Russia will be maintained as necessary steps towards a lasting peace. Ukraine needs support for air defence and financing,” President Stubb said at the conclusion of the meeting.
Mrs Suzanne Innes-Stubb, spouse of the President of the Republic of Finland, participated in a summit themed “Finding Stability in Times of Uncertainty”. The host of the summit was First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. In her address on the Finnish concept of sisu, Mrs Innes-Stubb highlighted Finland’s comprehensive security model, which is built on preparedness for crises and disruptions.
“We Finns are proud to share the concept of sisu with Ukraine. We hold the utmost admiration for the way in which Ukrainians from all sectors of society have repeatedly demonstrated their resilience and perseverance to the outside world,” she said.
Later on Monday, President Stubb joined the conference and participated in one of its panel discussions alongside President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda and President of Estonia Alar Karis.
Press release
Joint Declaration of the Leaders of Ukraine and the Nordic Baltic States (NB8)
Photos on Flickr
