The Finnish president also emphasized that the first week of hostilities in Iran cost about $40 billion – this is almost the annual expenses of European countries to help Ukraine.
Total European support for Ukraine from 2022 is estimated at $290–350 billion, he said.
Stubb also noted that Ukraine may have certain benefits from the conflict in the Middle East. According to him, due to US and Israeli attacks on Iran and Tehran's retaliatory strikes, “Iran and Russia are currently unable to cooperate in the field of missile and defense industries.”
In addition, shifting the world's attention to Iran could create opportunities for diplomacy regarding Ukraine, giving “space for negotiators to come to some kind of solution without unnecessary attention,” the Finnish president added.
Context
On the morning of February 28 Israel and the United States announced the start of military operations in Iran. President USA Donald Trump announced his intention protect the American peopleeliminating immediate threats from the Iranian regime. Same day liquidated Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 40 other country officials.
On March 6, European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said that in three days about 800 American-made missiles were used in the Middle East, which exceeds the number of missiles that Ukraine used during the four winter months.
