Finland will host a high-level online conference this weekend on the topic of environmental security in relation to Russia's war on Ukraine.
"Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is causing extensive environmental damage and may lead to unprecedented environmental pollution and destruction of ecosystems. Representatives of various states and international organisations have been invited to take part in the conference," a government press release stated.
Finland agreed to host the meeting from Helsinki, at Ukraine's request.
Environmental security is one of the 10 key points on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula, a road map aimed at justly ending the war.
Yle understands that high-ranking members of Ukraine's government will attend the meeting, but Zelensky will not be in attendance.
The conference will be opened by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) and chaired by Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Kai Mykkänen (NCP).
Häkkänen reticent on Ukraine's Nato membership
Separately, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP) is attending a two-day summit of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, where the topic of Ukraine's potential future membership in the alliance is on the agenda.
On Wednesday, Nato's newly sworn-in chief Mark Rutte reiterated that Ukraine's path to membership is "irreversible", but he would not be drawn on a timeline.
Häkkänen also avoided directly answering reporters' questions about Ukrainian membership in the alliance as he arrived for the meeting's first day on Thursday.
"We will evaluate this issue together," Häkkänen said, but declined to comment further on whether Ukraine could expect to receive an invitation to become a member by the time that the alliance's next key summit in The Hague next June.
"Nato countries are quite united in their support for Ukraine, but the key issues are related to the capacity of the defense industry. European countries must grow their defence industry at a fast pace," Häkkänen said.