Finland is putting €1.037 million behind a project to help Ukraine turn its forests into renewable energy and build better resource maps. Foreign Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio announced the four-year deal that pairs Finnish forestry experts with Ukrainian teams to tap the country’s huge forest reserves for power generation, according to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The work runs through 2028 and zeroes in on using wood waste for local energy production.
This isn’t starting from scratch. Both countries have been talking forestry cooperation since 2018, when they flagged it as a win-win during their economic commission meetings. Finland’s Natural Resources Institute and Forest Centre are now teaming up with Ukraine’s State Forest Resources Agency and forestry research institute to make it happen.
The project does double duty by creating better forest mapping systems that could cut down on corruption in Ukraine’s forestry sector. That means cleaner governance alongside cleaner energy. Ukraine gets help building power systems that don’t rely on big centralized plants—something that’s become crucial during wartime. The work also builds on a Swedish-funded project that’s already running.
“Finland has strong expertise in forestry and Ukraine has vast forest reserves,” Tavio said.
He thinks the project could spark commercial partnerships down the road. For Ukraine, it’s about energy security through smaller, distributed power sources that are harder to target or disrupt.
The deal shows how technical know-how can serve both humanitarian needs and business interests. Finland shares what it knows about forests, Ukraine gets help with energy independence, and both countries could see new trade opportunities emerge from the partnership.
