Ukraine and Finland agree on mutual quality assurance for defence products
All weapons, military vehicles and equipment, and gear supplied to the Ukrainian military must meet NATO standards. This requirement will now also fully apply to products procured by Ukraine and Finland from each other or produced pursuant to contractual arrangements. The defence ministries of both countries signed an official memorandum on mutual government quality assurance for military goods and services.
The document clearly sets out how the government quality assurance authorities of one country will verify the quality of defence products at the request of the other, in accordance with the common NATO standards STANAG 4107 and AQAP-2070. Under the new arrangement, if Ukraine places an order with a Finnish manufacturer — or vice versa — the quality assurance conducted by one side will be automatically recognised by the other. There will be no need to duplicate the same procedures.
Given the scale of procurement currently being carried out by the Ministry of Defence for the military, we must make even greater efforts to ensure transparency and accountability. This is important both for the partners who support us in various ways and for the service members who ultimately receive this equipment.
Mutual trust in quality assurance procedures will enable essential equipment to be delivered directly to the front line much more quickly.
How it works in practice
The memorandum establishes the framework under which quality assurance specialists from one country carry out activities on their own territory at the request of the partner country. All inspections will be carried out in accordance with common NATO standards and AQAP-2070 procedures, including the use of identical forms and documentation. This will enable both countries to ‘speak the same language’ regarding the reliability of military vehicles and equipment.
Ukraine expands its defence cooperation network
Ukraine has already concluded similar agreements on the mutual recognition of government quality assurance with Sweden, Türkiye, Czechia, France, Germany, Norway, and Poland. The agreement with Finland marks another step towards fully aligning Ukraine’s military procurement system with NATO standards.
This memorandum marks another step in strengthening the close and dynamic cooperation between our countries. Among its practical outcomes will be broader cooperation in the defence sector, particularly regarding defence products.
The new document represents a logical continuation of previous agreements with Finland, including the Security Agreement of 3 April 2024 and the memorandum on cooperation between the two defence ministries signed on 13 March 2025.