President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that Ukraine would launch a counterattack against Russian forces soon, and that he was confident the West would supply Kiev with modern warplanes afterward.

Speaking at a news conference in Finland, NATO’s newest member, Zelensky said one of the reasons he traveled to Helsinki was that Kiev wants to become a full member of the military alliance.

The Ukrainian president cited previous examples of battlefield successes after which Ukraine received a new type of military aid.

“That’s why I’m sure we’ll have aircraft soon. Because we’re going to have an attack soon, and after that I’m sure we’ll be given planes. I would prefer it to be the other way around, as it would be easier for us, but that’s the way it is, and we are grateful for everything,” the Ukrainian president said.

“We need them. We really need them,” Zelensky said, referring to aircraft supplies from Western allies.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said that Finland cannot provide the American-made Hornet fighters because they are old and few other countries in Europe have similar models, so it would not make sense to build a maintenance chain.

“But we like your plane, just so you know, Mr. President,” Zelensky said in a speech.

The Ukrainian president’s visit to Finland, one of the few trips he has made abroad since Russia invaded last year, was announced only after he arrived amid tight security in the Finnish capital.

The Ukrainian president reiterated his arguments for Ukraine to join NATO, the Western military alliance of which Finland last month became the 31st member in a direct response to Russia’s invasion.

“We need security guarantees today, while we are not in NATO,” Zelensky said.

“But in any case, our goal is to have full membership in the alliance. That’s one of the reasons I’m here today. The second reason, or to be honest the priority, is to strengthen our military… I don’t want to go into details if you don’t mind.”

Zelenskiy held bilateral talks with Niinisto ahead of the start of a regional summit that included the prime ministers of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Hundreds of people gathered in central Helsinki to see Zelenskiy’s arrival, cheering as he appeared in front of the presidential palace.

A spokesman for Zelensky said in a statement that the Ukrainian government expects the summit to result in a joint communiqué.

The Kremlin said on April 4 that Finland’s accession to NATO was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken security in the wider region and force Moscow to take countermeasures.

Echoing this view, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing today: “As we monitor NATO’s plans for Finland, we confirm that Russia will be forced to retaliate both militarily and otherwise in order to contain the threats to our national security”.