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Stubb: Finland Wouldn’t Have Joined NATO Without Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

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Maryna_kulakova
Maryna Kulakova
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Stubb: Finland Wouldn’t Have Joined NATO Without Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine
Finland's President Alexander Stubb addresses media during a press conference with NATO Secretary General at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on October 8, 2024. (Source: Getty Images)

Finnish President Alexander Stubb stated that Finland would likely not have joined NATO if Russia had not invaded Ukraine, calling the move by Russian leader Vladimir Putin one of the biggest strategic and tactical mistakes in modern military history.

In a comment to CNN on May 29, Stubb explained, “Well, probably two answers on that. The first one is that I don't think Finland would have joined NATO had not Putin attacked Ukraine. And of course, Finland and Ukraine are a different kettle of fish and we have a very different history.”

“Now, the second reason is that I think actually Putin made one of the biggest strategic and tactical mistakes in recent military history. He underestimated the power of the Ukrainian army. He overestimated his own army. And he underestimated the resolve of the unity of the West,” Stubb stated.

He continued, “And look, what was he trying to do? He was trying to make Ukraine Russian. Well, it became European. He tried to split the European Union. I've never seen it more united. He tried to split the transatlantic partnership, and especially NATO, and he ended up with neutral Sweden and Finland joining NATO. So you could perhaps argue that whatever he made was a colossal mistake.”

Stubb emphasized Finland’s strong defense capabilities, pointing out that Finland, alongside countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and Poland, has one of the largest militaries in Europe.

“We have mandatory military service, 900,000 men and women trained, over 60 F-18s, and 64 new F-35s to create a deterrent against Russia,” he added. "One of the borders that anyone should be least worried about is the Finnish border. As we put it here, we've got this, and especially we’ve got this with our allies.”

Previously, it was reported that The Finnish Ministry of Defense suspects two Russian military aircraft of violating the country’s airspace on May 23 in what would be the second such incursion this year, according to the Ministry on May 24.

The incident reportedly occurred near the Gulf of Finland, close to the city of Porvoo, just east of Helsinki.

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