Living in Helsinki we all saw this coming with the polls months back. Putin really reaps what he sows, and it’s sad.
Finland has historically been a place where Russia and the West meet. Even literally: there were US-Russia summits in Helsinki in 1990 and 2018. And Finland used to be occupied by Sweden first and Russia later before becoming independent in 1917, contributing to shared histories with both. Putin changed Finland from a western country with relatively good Russia relations to a gap-filler in the NATO front.
Living in Helsinki we all saw this coming with the polls months back. Putin really reaps what he sows, and it’s sad.
Finland has historically been a place where Russia and the West meet. Even literally: there were US-Russia summits in Helsinki in 1990 and 2018. And Finland used to be occupied by Sweden first and Russia later before becoming independent in 1917, contributing to shared histories with both. Putin changed Finland from a western country with relatively good Russia relations to a gap-filler in the NATO front.
I’m delighted to read this and I hope we can also welcome Ukraine into NATO.