On Wednesday, 8 January, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland Elina Valtonen in Kyiv.

The diplomats discussed the priorities of the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship in 2025, as well as the bilateral agenda of the Ukrainian-Finnish cooperation.

Andrii Sybiha expressed gratitude to the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship for keeping support of Ukraine as well as the Russian aggressive war among the OSCE priorities for 2025. 

The Foreign Minister stressed that the OSCE should continue to be a platform for keeping Russia accountable for its ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine and hybrid war against Europe.

 ‘Not only the ‘shadow’ fleet, but also Russia's true intentions must be brought out of the shadows,’ the minister stressed.

The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the OSCE would strengthen its work in documenting Russian crimes, maintain its focus on the deportation of children, the holding of civilian hostages, and the fate of three OSCE staff members who are still in Russian captivity - Vadym Golda, Maksym Petrov and Dmytro Shabanov.

Andrii Sybiha drew special attention to the executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian occupiers and called on the OSCE to give an assessment of these systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions.

 ‘We will use every international platform to draw attention to torture, executions and maltreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war. We will continue to demand access to them for international monitors and doctors, and their final release. We remember every Ukrainian man and woman in Russian prisons,’ he stressed.

The Minister underlined the importance of the high level of OSCE representation at the Global Peace Summit last year and expressed hope that Finland would continue this momentum and make the Peace Formula the basis for the OSCE's activity concerning Ukraine.

On the bilateral track, Andrii Sybiha thanked Finland for all the support provided to Ukraine. The parties discussed strengthening Ukraine's air defence and common countering hybrid threats from Russia.

Finally, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed the symbolism of the Finnish Chairpersonship, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, which became the basis for the establishment of the OSCE.