It's important to take into account Ukraine's position on number of troops on its territory from Coalition of the Willing - Finnish defense minister

It is important to know what the Ukrainian side's assessment is regarding the number of troops that should be on its territory from the Coalition of the Willing, stressed Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen.

"There is a lot of public discussion about troop levels now, but what we are hearing today is a military assessment, and of course the Ukrainians are playing a major role here - it is important to know what their assessment is," he said before the Coalition of the Willing meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday.

The minister noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now the main priority for strengthening. "This is their key guarantee of security, we must further strengthen their army and defense industry after the ceasefire," he said.

Häkkänen noted that Russia lacks a desire for peace, so it is very important to increase pressure on it to sit down at the negotiating table. In addition, according to him, it is necessary to strengthen Ukraine's position in the military, industrial and financial spheres.

The minister also stressed that Finland views the United States as a key player in ensuring long-term security, noting that the country must be involved "in some way."