Antti Hakkanen, Finland’s defense minister, said Beijing now provides the financing, technology and industrial links that sustain Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine, and urged NATO and democratic allies to respond with coordinated pressure.
On Wednesday, Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, told news agencies that the relationship between Moscow and Beijing has reached a level in which China is “massively” funding Russia’s war effort, a development he described as an immediate and serious threat to European security and to the cohesion of democratic alliances. Häkkänen said that without deliberate inflows of money and technology from China, Russia would be unable to sustain its current military campaign in Ukraine.
Häkkänen framed the matter as a strategic problem that goes beyond bilateral ties between Beijing and Moscow. He indicated that Chinese assistance extends beyond financial transfers to include the supply of military components, cooperation on defence-industry projects and the conduct of large-scale joint exercises that span the Arctic, the Indo-Pacific and other regions of strategic interest to Europe. The minister argued these developments increase pressure on NATO members and democratic partners to respond with greater urgency and coordination.
In his remarks, Häkkänen differentiated the sources of external support to Russia: while other countries — he cited India as an example — provide assistance in different forms, he insisted that China’s contribution is both deliberate and substantial. He called for a firm and unified approach by Western democracies, urging strengthened sanctions, sustained military aid to Ukraine and the closure of any industrial or financial “loopholes” that allow armament production to continue with foreign inputs.
Häkkänen also addressed operational and regional defence measures under discussion among Nordic allies. He said that Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland have agreed to triple munitions production and to develop logistical corridors to facilitate coordinated military movements — measures intended to bolster collective readiness in the near term. The minister highlighted that, taken together, the Nordic states can field some 250 combat aircraft able to operate jointly, and he described enhanced regional cooperation as a direct response to the growing complexity of threats.
The minister reiterated Finland’s policy choices since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, noting Helsinki’s accession to NATO in 2023 as a strategic response to Russian aggression. He recalled Finland’s long physical border with Russia — more than 1,300 kilometres — as a principal factor shaping Helsinki’s security calculus and underscored the country’s determination not to yield to coercion.
Häkkänen expressed support for economic pressure on Moscow and praised recent measures taken by the United States, citing restrictions imposed on parts of Russia’s energy sector under the administration of Donald Trump. At the same time, he criticized delays in the delivery of advanced weapons platforms to Kyiv and urged allies to accelerate and broaden military assistance to ensure Ukraine can sustain its defence and secure a successful outcome. He advocated a comprehensive strategy combining persistent aid, stricter sanctions and targeted operations against centres of weapons production that still depend on foreign inputs.
Beyond Europe, Häkkänen said Finland is deepening defence and technology ties with partners outside the continent, naming Australia and New Zealand among democracies that have contributed equipment and assistance to Ukraine — an effort he presented as evidence that support for Kyiv is transcontinental and that democracies can build broader containment networks. He warned that a failure to respond resolutely would have consequences not only for Ukraine and Europe but also for the Indo-Pacific strategic balance.
The Finnish government’s statements come amid heightened Western scrutiny of Beijing’s ties with Moscow and of the global supply chains that sustain modern warfare. Analysts say that allegations of industrial and financial support, if sustained by further evidence, could prompt additional rounds of diplomatic pressure and potential sanctions aimed at severing the channels that enable prolonged conflict. The reporting on Häkkänen’s comments drew on accounts from AFP and other international news agencies.
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