Svetlana Grinchuk discussed a significant partnership with Finland: "€2 million for a joint project."

2 million euros for a joint project between the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Finnish Institute for Environmental Research (Syke) aimed at assessing environmental damage and monitoring water quality and biodiversity.

Finland is a key partner for Ukraine in implementing environmental projects and promoting Point 8 of the Peace Formula concerning ecological safety. We are collaborating on environmental issues during the war, receiving assistance not only theoretically but also practically.

We have signed documents with the Director General of the Finnish Institute for Environmental Research, Leif Schulman, to launch the project "Support for Ukraine in Assessing Environmental Damage and Developing Water Quality and Biodiversity Monitoring," which will operate from 2025 to 2028 and will be funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

This is a significant step for cooperation and experience exchange, as Finland's water monitoring system is among the best in Europe. Project funds will be allocated to address tasks in the following areas:

• conducting screening studies of pilot river basins affected by military actions;
• acquiring a mobile laboratory for water monitoring in the Northern region;
• sharing experiences with Finnish colleagues and training monitoring laboratory specialists on conducting research in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive requirements;
• auditing data management and reporting systems in water monitoring laboratories and synchronizing our system with European practices;
• assisting Ukraine in developing roadmaps for water and biodiversity monitoring for strategic planning and determining steps for implementing EU directive requirements;
• enhancing the technical capabilities of water monitoring laboratories;
• strengthening the use of satellite data as a powerful tool for environmental monitoring.

Last year, Ukraine's water sector experienced significant impacts due to Russian armed aggression: pollution of the Seim and Desna rivers, localization and remediation of the consequences of Russian terrorist actions at the DniproHES, oil spills from damaged Russian tankers in the Black Sea, etc. Over the three years of Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 744 water management infrastructure facilities have been damaged or destroyed, amounting to over 500 million hryvnias. The State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine has imposed approximately 85 billion hryvnias in fines for water pollution and marine water contamination resulting from military actions. All of this necessitates quality monitoring, assessment, and updates. Having partners like the Finns during the war is invaluable.

Thank you to the Finnish Minister of Environment and Climate, Kai Mykkänen, the Finnish Institute for Environmental Research (Syke), and everyone involved for their support.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that there is support from the country in developing modern atmospheric air monitoring. We expect soon to receive air monitoring posts that will be supplied to Ukraine with the support of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.