Starting June 2021, Finland changed its approach to granting export licenses making them classified going forward. "Between 2000 and 2020, Finland issued thousands of arms export licences without needing to classify them. It now appears the practice has changed," said Kari Paasonen, an expert at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Research, noting a sudden policy change.
Since then, a total of 19 secret export licenses have been issued to eight countries, mostly to Ukraine, according to the Yle investigation. Another customer, Israel, reportedly was the one to request confidentiality for some arms exports.
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Finland’s Ministry of Defense says the shift reflects a changed global security environment. Previously, the country exported armored personnel carriers and anti-drone defense systems without restriction.
"Arms exports are a political decision. Nearly all the information about them comes from the government. If the authorities choose to disclose less, citizens are left with fewer opportunities to rate the decisions of state leaders," Paasonen added.
Earlier, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen called on the United States to provide European Union with a "clear roadmap" in the event of a potential withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe.
"A clear roadmap is necessary to ensure russia sees no window of opportunity to act," Häkkänen said, stressing the need for Washington’s plans to be closely coordinated with EU defense initiatives.
Earlier, Defense Express covered Finland’s bold defense spending strategy, with Helsinki planning to double its military budget by 2032. Now, it appears that part of this investment is already being quietly channeled into arms deliveries — especially to Ukraine.
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