Finland’s president urges Europe to hold its nerve as he warns no ceasefire likely soon in Ukraine

HALVALA, Finland (AP) — A ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely before spring and European allies need to maintain support despite crisis corruption scandal Finnish President Alexander Stubb told the Associated Press that the incident engulfed Kiev.

Meanwhile, for Russia to get through the winter months, Europe will need “sisu,” a Finnish word meaning endurance, endurance and courage, he said. hybrid attacks and continent-wide information warfare.

Stubb also needs this quality as one of the key European interlocutors between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As the leader of one of Europe’s smaller countries that share a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) road border with RussiaHe is well aware of what is at stake.

After two wars with Russia in the 1940s, Finland lost about 10% of its territory to Moscow and agreed to remain militarily neutral. However, Finland’s losses were much less than they could have been due to the Finnish troops displaying “sisu”, inflicting heavy losses on the Soviet army despite being much more numerous.

Finland’s neutral stance was reversed only after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the Finns’ entry into NATO. Stubb is leveraging his good relationship with Trump (the two men play golf together and speak regularly) to argue the case on Ukraine’s behalf.

“I can explain to President Trump what Finland is going through, or how I see the situation on the battlefield, or how you would deal with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. And then, you know, if he accepts one of the 10 ideas, that would be good,” he said.

Stubb spoke to the AP on Saturday at a military base north of the capital Helsinki, where he observed Finnish volunteers participating in defense training. Wearing a jacket with the word “sisu” written on the back, he watched as volunteers worked to evacuate wounded soldiers from the conflict zone in freezing temperatures.

Stubb told AP Zelenskyy should address allegations quickly kickbacks and embezzlementHe says the scandal benefited Russia. However, he also called on European leaders to pay attention to the following: financial boost and military support to a growing Kiev Russia’s achievements on the battlefield.

“I’m not very optimistic about a ceasefire or the start of peace talks, at least this year,” Stubb said, adding that it would be good to have “something in motion” by March.

Three big questions on the road to a ceasefire: Security guarantees for UkraineHe said he was rebuilding his economy and had reached some sort of understanding over his territorial claims.

To bring peace to Ukraine, Stubb said Trump and European leaders must maximize pressure on Russia and Putin to change its strategic thinking. Stubb said Putin “fundamentally wants to deny Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity” and that those goals have not changed since the war began nearly four years ago.

He suggested using tools such as hundreds of billions of dollars to do this. frozen Russian assets It is being held as collateral in Europe to fund Ukraine, and military pressure on Moscow is increasing.

Stubb praised Trump Sanctions against major Russian energy companies In October, Lukoil and Rosneft argued that more needed to be done to give Ukraine the capacity to strike Russia’s “military or defense industry”, saying he had done “an excellent job”.

Trump last month Ukraine’s request was rejected For long-range Tomahawk missiles that would theoretically allow Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia, although Kiev does not currently have any launchers or platforms from which to fire them.

Stubb noted that Ukraine is still negotiating with the United States for more firepower.

Trump’s moves towards Ukraine

In mid-October, the White House suddenly announced that Trump would meet Putin in Budapest. cancel the meeting less than a week later.

The decision came after the meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; where Rubio probably noticed that “the Russians haven’t moved an inch,” Stubb said, and “there’s no point in putting President Trump in a situation where he can’t make a deal or anything.”

Stubb said the cancellation was “another example of the strategic mistake the Russians made. They had an opportunity and they blew it.”

Trump went back and forth between calls rapprochement with Putin And apply pressure he did the same to her Zelenskyy. Stubb said he handles any change by being “pretty patient” and living “with reality.”

“You can’t have illusions about the things you want to see happen,” the Finnish president said. “Personally, I tried to focus on issues like: We need security guarantees for Ukraine. How can we build them? We need a ceasefire. How can we get that?”

“It was a bit of a grind. I think you also need ‘sisu’ in such negotiations.”

But he said the work had borne fruit and that military options to guarantee Ukraine’s security once a ceasefire or peace negotiations were reached were now “open”, with various countries committing resources – but he declined to give further details, citing secret military planning.

Despite some Ukraine missteps, Stubb is generous with his praise for Ukraine Zelenskyy. “I admire a lot of the things he does because leading a country in war is an existential thing. You learn a lot from other people in that situation,” he said.

Stubb has Trump’s ear

Stubb is in a better position than many European leaders when it comes to relations with Donald Trump. As a teenager, he studied in the United States on a golf scholarship, and the two spent about seven hours playing at Mar-a-Lago in March.

He suggested golf was a “door opener” and helped him form a bond with the US president. While it is a known fact that Trump and Zelenskyy have a tumultuous relationship, Stubb said he and other European leaders could help serve as a bridge between them.

“We interpret President Trump as President Zelenskyy and vice versa,” he said.

However, when it comes to Putin, only one person should negotiate with him directly and publicly, and that is Trump, Stubb said, suggesting that the European Union is unlikely to open a direct communication channel with the Russian leader any time soon.

Russian attacks in Europe

At the same time, Trump is leading negotiations with Putin; Many European countries faced this situation. Attacks by Russian drones, suspicious or approvedtogether fighter jets and allegedly widespread Russia’s sabotage campaign.

Speaking to the AP, Stubb said Russia is waging not only a kinetic war in Ukraine but also a hybrid war in Europe.

“The line between war and peace has blurred,” Stubb said

He said Russia was trying to destabilize Europe and “cause turmoil and panic” through attacks including arson, vandalism and propaganda.

The way to deal with these threats is to “be Finnish,” Stubb said.

“In other words, take it easy, calm down, control yourself, and drink some of that ‘sisu’.”