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Henri Vanhanen wrote that Volodymyr Zelensky was ready to hold elections in Ukraine if Vladimir Putin agreed to a 60-day ceasefire. Vanhanen noted that this was not a new concession, as Zelensky had made the same proposal in February and required sufficient security guarantees to hold the elections. Vanhanen interpreted the proposal as a message to Donald Trump, who, in his view, had repeatedly questioned Zelensky’s position and called for elections in Ukraine. According to Vanhanen, holding elections would require the United States to get Russia to stop hostilities for a sufficient period. He found it contradictory that Ukraine was being asked to hold elections in the midst of an invasion, while Russia had not agreed to a ceasefire that would allow for it. Vanhanen also pondered how strong Trump’s pressure on Zelensky had become, referring to Trump’s recent statements regarding Ukrainian leadership. He believed that the replacement of the Ukrainian president should not become a substantive goal of peace negotiations, but rather that Ukrainians should choose their own leader. According to Vanhanen, Trump should have used his influence to promote a ceasefire rather than forcing Ukraine to defend the legitimacy of its democracy. #Ukraina #Zelenskyi #Trump (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that the agreement announced by Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin to bring millions of tons of Russian diesel to the global market would be very bad news for Ukraine. According to Vanhanen, the arrangement would give Russia new opportunities to earn from energy exports, even though its war of aggression in Ukraine would continue. Vanhanen assessed that the agreement could help Russia mitigate the economic impacts of the strikes on Ukraine's oil refineries. He wrote that the strikes had caused problems and fuel shortages for Russia. In his view, facilitating Russia's energy exports would also reduce the pressure on Putin to negotiate an end to the war. Vanhanen considered it possible that the promised deliveries might not materialize, as he claimed Russia's refining capacity had suffered from the strikes. Vanhanen speculated that Trump was aiming for lower fuel prices in the United States before the midterm elections, but questioned the agreement's impact on prices. He also found the political message of the agreement concerning: in his view, the Kremlin could present it as evidence that Russia is not isolated and that the U.S. president is willing to do business with it. According to Vanhanen, the agreement could place Ukraine's strikes on Russia's oil industry in conflict with Washington's fuel price objectives. He urged Europe to prepare for greater responsibility in supporting Ukraine and pressuring Russia, and maintained that Russia's war economy should not be helped to recover. https://t.co/gpRe9acHoW #Ukraina #Venäjä #Trump (translated)

Henri Vanhanen recalled working in the parliament in February 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale attack on Ukraine. According to him, Finland had not yet sent defense aid to Ukraine at that time. Vanhanen stated that he had suggested to the National Coalition Party’s parliamentary group that the government should be required to provide military assistance. Vanhanen wrote that Finland was sending its 35th defense assistance package to Ukraine and had delivered defense materials worth approximately 3.6 billion euros to the country. He described the support as a long-term national commitment that had been continued across government terms and party lines. According to Vanhanen, supporting Ukraine's defense was also necessary for Finland's security. He assessed that the repelled Russian attacks in Ukraine would reduce Russia's ability to threaten other countries in Europe. Vanhanen wrote that Finland's support should continue for as long as it was needed. https://t.co/SGRsbSx53P #Ukraina #Suomi #Puolustusapu (translated)

Henri Vanhanen warned about Finland's security and wrote that according to Denmark's Security and Intelligence Service PET, Russia had begun sabotage operations against Danish defense companies. According to him, companies supplying weapons and equipment to Ukraine were particularly targeted. Vanhanen stated that PET assessed that Moscow had aimed to reduce European support for Ukraine through intimidation and harassment and was now trying to harm weapons production and supply chains. Vanhanen wrote that perpetrators of the strikes were recruited via social media and were first paid for photographing and gathering intelligence on targets, and later for sabotage. According to him, this allowed operations without the direct involvement of Russian intelligence officers. He warned that Russia aimed to extend the effects of the war to NATO countries and also assessed that Finland's defense industry's production facilities, subcontractors, personnel, and supply chains could be targets. Vanhanen believed that protecting them required cooperation between companies and authorities, and urged NATO to assess when individual sabotage attacks would constitute a systematic campaign against the alliance's defense capability. https://t.co/CgjnDAjDhY #Turvallisuus #Ukraina #Venäjä (translated)

Dennis Mitzner criticized the foreign minister's statement, in which he said that Finland is strongly committed to a two-state solution. Mitzner questioned whether the mention was necessary and believed it placed the statement, along with the mentioned 1,200 murdered Israeli citizens, in a political context that weakened the statement. He wondered whether Hamas would have started the attack even if the Gaza Strip, which it governs, had been part of an independent Palestine. According to Mitzner, the attack could have been even broader and targeted Israel's largest settlement centers from the West Bank. #Suomi #Palestina #IsraelinKriisi (translated)

The author reminded that in the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people died according to him, and 251 were taken hostage. He wrote that Finland had strongly condemned the attack at that time and continues to condemn it. In addition, he noted that Israel had the right to exist safely. #Israel #Hamas #kansainvälisetasiat #FI #IL (translated)

Anne Nevgi wrote that three years earlier she had followed news and social media for information about the attack on the music festival and people's homes. She mentioned seeing images of people celebrating amidst the dead and wounded and said she did not understand how the killing of women, children, babies, men, and the elderly could be celebrated. Nevgi wrote that she understood even less that messages hating Israel were coming from all over the world instead of compassion and condemnation of the attack. She remarked that the world had not changed in her opinion, but Israel remained. #Israel #musiikkijuhla #hyökkäys (translated)

The drownings occurred in a commercial vessel in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev condemned the attack as a violation of international law and referred to it as a possible Russian action. #droonit #hyökkäys #Bulgarian_talousalue (translated)

According to the author, the attack had been prepared for months. He reported that the Flydubai pilot had been waiting for landing permission at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport and wrote that, according to media reports, he intended to direct the aircraft towards the airport buildings. The author stated that the pilot, whom he identified as Omani citizen Hamam al-Hammami, had attacked the captain with an emergency axe. #IsraeliKriisi #Lentoturvallisuus #Hyökkäys #IL #OM (translated)

Laura Korpinen wrote that she found Stubb's foreign policy statements quite unwise and wondered whether the media was attempting to shape public opinion by reporting on them in such a way that an attack on Russia would be seen as justified or even necessary. https://t.co/IzBM0CoMbM #ulkopolitiikka #media #Venäjä (translated)

Jarno Limnell wrote that the bus would soon continue its journey towards Ukraine with supplies and a message that Ukrainians would not be left alone. He said that support should not falter as long as Russia continued its attack. https://t.co/nwJf5h57id #Ukraina #Avustus #Solidaarisuus (translated)