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Saara Huhtasaari assessed that Ukraine could not win the war and that this should have been clear as early as 2022. She considered supporting the war foolish from the beginning and wrote that hundreds of billions had been spent on Ukraine while corruption and abuses in military procurements continued. According to her, the money had disappeared and politicians had become richer. Huhtasaari believed that Trump's diesel agreement would not change the outcome of the war, claiming that Ukraine would lose regardless. She blamed the West for maintaining a narrative for four years that victory would require only more weapons and time. In her opinion, this was a war of attrition, in which Russia was enduring better and Ukraine's personnel reserves were dwindling. #Ukraina #sota #historia (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that he understands Volodymyr Zelensky's frustration with Donald Trump but criticized Europe for not intervening more actively in the negotiations. Vanhanen stated that Ukraine accepted a ceasefire proposed by the United States in the spring of 2025, which Vladimir Putin rejected. According to him, Trump threatened Russia with consequences, invited Putin to Alaska, and continued to seek a deal. Ultimately, according to Vanhanen, Russia's terms for peace were shaped to be acceptable to the Americans, after which Ukraine and European countries had to amend them. Vanhanen compared Putin's negotiation style to the Soviet style, which he associated with Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko: first, a lot is demanded, concessions are rejected, and it is expected that the opposing party will offer more. He assessed that Trump needed a visible agreement more than Putin, which is why, in his opinion, Russia could wait for new initiatives from the United States. Vanhanen criticized Trump for letting Russia's demands influence what Ukraine was pressured to concede. He questioned why Europe had not presented a joint peace proposal with Ukraine or jointly decided how to respond to Russia's next refusal. Vanhanen noted that the United States' influence is undeniable and its participation is necessary, but he believed that Trump should not be given exclusive rights to define the direction of the negotiations. In his opinion, Europe did not need to be ashamed of Trump's lack of historical knowledge or understanding of Russia's negotiating tactics, but Europe's passivity was still harder to defend. https://t.co/qs68FaMyfW #Ukraina #Eurooppa #Trump (translated)

Henri Vanhanen criticized Donald Trump's actions in the Ukraine war, noting that he declared agreements about which there was uncertainty, while pressuring Ukraine in a way that benefited Vladimir Putin. As a recent example, Vanhanen pointed to Trump’s announced energy ceasefire. According to him, Volodymyr Zelensky heard about it practically for the first time from the media, Russia had not confirmed the agreement, and continued, according to Zelensky, attacks on Ukraine's power plants. Vanhanen asked what kind of ceasefire it was if the other party did not know what had been agreed upon. He suggested that Zelensky had to be cautious of Trump’s criticism to avoid being blamed for obstructing peace. Vanhanen referred to the Financial Times reporting that the United States threatened to cut off arms and intelligence supplies to Ukraine unless the country stopped attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. He also wrote that Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel, demanded Ukraine to cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, and encouraged a change of leadership in Ukraine. Vanhanen estimated that the war in Iran and the resulting fuel prices, the upcoming midterm elections, and the need to show results might explain Trump’s urgency to secure an agreement. According to him, Trump aimed for cheaper diesel and a visible peace political achievement, while Putin would benefit from a decrease in attacks on Russia’s energy sector. Vanhanen noted that the alignment of these goals seemed to occur at Ukraine’s expense. Vanhanen stated that he did not oppose a ceasefire if it protected Ukrainians and also bound Russia. However, he observed that for Trump, merely declaring an agreement seemed to suffice, even without information about its terms or Russia's commitment. Vanhanen assessed that Russia would benefit from a situation in which the United States sought a quick agreement and Ukraine was cautious not to offend Trump. In such conditions, he believed Putin could gain concessions from Trump without Russia needing to win against Ukraine at the negotiating table. #Ukraina #Trump #Venäjä (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)

According to the report of the National Audit Office of Finland (VTV), the management of volunteer fire departments is insufficient, even though there are nearly 600 agreements in the areas, some of which are outdated or incomplete. #sopimuspalokunnat #VTV #pelastuslaitos (translated)

The author found it interesting to follow how the situation would develop and claimed that Russia had continued the development of biological weapons in violation of the treaties it had ratified. Therefore, he believed that Russia had a reasonable amount of experience on the topic. #Venäjä #bioaseet #sopimukset #FI #RU (translated)

Jari Mäkäräinen criticized Yle for what he perceived as giving Timo R. Stewart, whom he describes as a Hamas activist, an unchallenged platform to present his book. According to Mäkäräinen, the article adopted Stewart's view regarding the destruction of Gaza, genocide, and Finland's responsibility due to trade with Israel, without hearing the opposing side. Mäkäräinen emphasized that, in his opinion, genocide does not equate to heavy war. He wrote that the International Court of Justice had not ruled on the case against Israel and that interim measures were not a judgment. In his view, civilian casualties can occur in urban warfare where Hamas places rockets, command centers, and tunnels among civilians without the intent of destroying the group. He compared this to the battles of Mosul, Raqqa, and Fallujah, claiming that Stewart began using the term genocide after Israel succeeded in its war against Hamas. According to Mäkäräinen, the Yle article also lacked the starting point of the war: the attack on October 7, in which he claims over 1,200 people died, and which involved rapes and kidnappings. He wrote that Hamas aims for the end of Israel instead of a Palestinian state. He criticized the figures presented by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the article—over 21,600 by December 2023 and over 1,400 after ceasefires—and claimed that the ministry was subordinate to Hamas and that its figures did not differentiate between fighters and civilians. In his view, the article also lacked Israel's perspective that a significant portion of the dead were fighters. Regarding the two-state model, Mäkäräinen wrote that its failure was not solely due to Israel. He claimed that Hamas had rejected the model multiple times and that the Palestinian Authority had turned down offers, such as at Camp David in 2000 and Annapolis in 2008. He added that according to polls, the majority of both Palestinians and Israelis had abandoned the model. He described the cessation of support for UNRWA as a reaction to an organization that, according to him, had ample evidence of connections between its facilities and personnel to Hamas. Mäkäräinen believed that Yle, as a publicly funded media, should not advertise a single essayist as an expert. According to him, the article could have included opposing researchers, Israel's official stance, or addressed Hamas's responsibility for hostages and the use of civilians as shields. He concluded by asking why this had not been done. https://t.co/sHriNitmMo #Gaza #Israel #Hamas (translated)

Development aid is a futile money-burning institution. And indeed it is. Over the last 60 years, more than 1.2 trillion euros have been sent as development aid to the African continent from the West, and what is the result? Widespread corruption and, in part, exploitation through the agreements that come with development aid. Development aid does not develop the nations receiving the money; instead, it makes them dependent on it. It should be canceled. #kehitysapu #korruptio #riippuvuus (translated)

There were 180 passengers and crew members on Flydubai flight FZ1073 who narrowly avoided a tragedy earlier today when the crew and Israeli passengers managed to together prevent a planned terrorist attack. Six years after the signing of the Abraham Accords, the purpose of the attack was to sabotage relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Instead, the events demonstrated the solidarity between the citizens of the two countries. Thanks to the exceptional courage of the Israeli passengers and Emirati crew, the flight landed safely moments ago at Ben Gurion Airport. #terrorismi #solidaarisuus #lentoturvallisuus (translated)

Suomen ja Ukrainan puolustusyhteistyö siirtyy uudelle tasolle. Allekirjoitimme tänään @ZelenskyyUa kanssa droonidiilin. Sopimus mahdollistaa muun muassa puolustusmateriaalien yhteistuotannon. Suomalaiset puolustusalan yritykset ovat valmiina, nyt yhteinen toiminta pääsee https://t.co/UKHboP5HpU #Suomi #Ukraina #puolustusyhteistyö #FI #UA

Grönlannin diili tuo kaksi totuutta samaan paperiin. Grönlannin uusi puolustussopimus allekirjoitettiin tänään New Yorkissa. Washington puhuu pysyvästä kontrollista, Kööpenhamina ja Nuuk suvereniteetin vahvistamisesta. Kaikki kolme lukevat samaa paperia, ja kaikki ovat osittain https://t.co/YD2NMgreq7 #Grönland #sopimus #suvereniteetti #GL #US #DK #GL