Kiev, Jan 25 (IANS): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his visiting Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto discussed security issues during their meeting in Kiev.

Zelensky and Niinisto talked about regional security, the issues that directly affect the security of Ukraine and Finland, and bilateral defence cooperation, Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying.

Zelensky thanked Finland for providing 12 defence assistance packages for Ukraine and helping in restoring Ukraine's energy sector after the Russian strikes.

The President informed his Finnish counterpart about the current situation at the frontline of Russia's ongoing invasion.

"We also discussed Finland's participation in the coalition of countries aimed to provide Ukraine with modern Western tanks," Zelensky said.

For his part, Niinisto informed that Finland has provided assistance worth almost 600 million euros ($653 million) for the war-torn nation and has sheltered about 50,000 Ukrainian citizens.

During their talks, the parties also touched upon the issues of Kiev's European and Euro-Atlantic integration and exchanged their views on the Ukrainian Peace Formula proposed by Zelensky in November 2022.

Niinisto arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday for his first visit since the war began on February 24, 2022.