Commander of the Finnish Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki, accompanied by a group of delegates, in Ukraine on 20-25 September 2026.
Commander of the Finnish Army, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki visited Ukraine. The visit was a continuation of long-standing, intensified cooperation with the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The visit started off by a meeting with the Commander of the Ukrainian Army and his staff in Kyiv. Topics of discussion included operational situation, drivers of change in the battlefield, training of troops and bilateral cooperation between the Armies. The delegation also met the Commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps and his subordinates, learning about the organization and present state of OP VIVALDI and discussing communication and the exchange of information.
– It was very important for me to meet Ukrainian frontline commanders and talk about challenges, changes in the battlefield, and drivers of success with them, so that we can adapt to the ongoing change in an appropriate manner. The Commander of the 3rd Army Corps gave us a very concrete presentation of these matters when we discussed the training of troops as well as their use in the ongoing operation. We also discussed the prerequisites that need to be created for a successful use of mechanised units.
The Finnish Defence Forces’ training system and the contents of training have been revised on the basis of the lessons learnt and observations made in Ukraine. The exchange of information and cross-learning are an essential part of our bilateral cooperation with Ukraine, especially in the context of unmanned systems and their introduction in the Army. Intensifying this cooperation and putting its results into everyday practise is yet to be made more systematic. One possibility is an exchange of instructors in courses.
– During my visit to the 233rd Training Centre, I got to see how training arrangements and implementation have evolved and partly changed in recent years. Cooperation with the centre has been important to us in starting the training of armed UAVs in the Army and improving our tactical combat course to match the requirements of a modern battlefield, Commander of the Finnish Army says.
The delegation was also introduced to the operations of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Command, meeting its Commander and discussing the organisation and training of unmanned systems and their principles of use as well as the systems currently in use and their future prospects.
– More than anything else, we talked about the use of layered counter-UAV and their continuous development so that they can keep up with changing threats. The meeting was quite a concrete demonstration of the requirements that the use and command of unmanned systems set for data transmission solutions, data integration and the different functionalities of electromagnetic warfare. We also talked about the newly closed ”drone deal” and possibilities of training cooperation, Lieutenant General Välimäki says.
Lessons learnt from Ukraine are also benefiting the development of NATO, for example, in the implementation of Alliance’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative (EFDI). A substantial part of the technological solutions and systems of EFDI have been tested or are used in Ukraine. A pilot exercise Arctic Strike 26, to be organised in Finland towards the end of this year, is a part of this initiative, and the cooperation with Ukraine plays a role in this undertaking, too.
Commander of the Finnish Army also met the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, who concluded the meeting by awarding the Finnish Army Commander the 2nd class Order of Merit.
Photos: (c) The Armed Forces of Ukraine.