On 19 March, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Herman Smetanin and Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Finland Mari Rantanen signed a Joint Letter of Intent in the presence of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President of Finland Alexander Stubb. It provides for the development of Ukraine's civil protection shelter system with the active participation of Finland and other partner countries. The aim of the project is to assist Ukraine in reforming the shelter system and to develop coordination of international assistance in this area.

The initiative implements the agreement reached on 3 April 2024 between President of Finland Alexander Stubb and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The joint letter of intent outlines the establishment of the Civil Protection Shelter Coalition. Its aim will be to coordinate international efforts in this area to ensure that the construction of shelters is in line with Ukraine's national strategic objectives.

The document states that by setting standards, sharing best practices and pooling resources, the aim is to begin building a modern system of civil protection facilities to reliably safeguard the civilian population of Ukraine from all threats.

The joint letter of intent was signed in Helsinki during the visit of the Presidents of Ukraine and Finland to the Merihaka municipal civil defence shelter.