Strikes on Russia’s War Machine Needed, Finland’s Stubb Says

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Russia’s Vladimir Putin has no intention of ending the war in Ukraine this year and called for sustained efforts to weaken Moscow’s military capacity.

The Gaze reports this, referring to ERR.

Speaking tо ambassadors, Stubb argued that Russia will try to push as far as possible on the battlefield before winter, but mounting economic strain will eventually limit its ability to sustain the conflict.

“Russia will not be able to keep its war machine operational for much longer. Unfortunately, we cannot know how long, which means this war machine must be attacked,” he said.

Stubb added that the only leaders capable of influencing Putin to pursue peace are more likely to be in the east and south than in the West, specifically China’s Xi Jinping and India’s Narendra Modi.

He noted that U.S. President Donald Trump’s patience with Moscow had already snapped several times, prompting measures favorable to Kyiv, such as Washington’s recent tariffs on India over purchases of Russian oil, gas, and weapons. 

Stubb said he is urging Trump to recognize that Russian promises of talks are “a typical delaying tactic.” “It is only a matter of time before President Trump reacts to this, and the question is how,” he added.

The Finnish leader said he remains in regular contact with dozens of U.S. senators and believes transatlantic pressure will bear fruit. 

As The Gaze previously reported, Jorma Ala-Sankila, the chairman of the Finnish Peacekeepers’ Association, does not rule out the possibility of Finland deploying peacekeepers to Ukraine as part of a future security guarantees mission.