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Henri Vanhanen wrote that he doubted whether Vladimir Putin had a realistic understanding of the situation in the war in Ukraine or whether he would be willing to accept information contrary to his own views. Vanhanen assessed that in Russia's system, reporting bad news to the leadership could be dangerous and that the military leadership, subordinates, or the president's inner circle might distort or filter information. Vanhanen referred to a recent assessment by the think tank ISW, which stated that Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in northern Donetsk had shattered Russia's plan to encircle the region's key defensive cities from two directions. According to him, Russia's goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region appeared to be further away as a result. Vanhanen wrote that Putin might continue the war to achieve unrealistic goals if he believed that Russia was closer to victory than reality suggests. He deemed it even more concerning that Putin might be receiving accurate information but did not want to believe it. Vanhanen emphasized that Russia's military failure, in his view, might not necessarily change Putin's goals or his desire to continue the war. He believed that an unrealistic situational picture could lead to the prolongation of the war and taking greater risks, and he appealed for continued support for Ukraine and to resist Russia's military pressure. https://t.co/Lb2advefv2 #Ukraina #Putin #sota (translated)

The publisher shared a link to an article titled "Russia squandered its dwindling forces in so-called meat assaults." He described the use of strategic nuclear missile personnel in tactical infantry assaults as ironically "quite innovative." https://t.co/zjOg2bWnZy #strategia #meeta #sota #RU (translated)

The author estimates that the recent actions of the United States have increased Europe’s need to more strongly support Ukraine's fight against Russia. According to him, Europe has already done so. The author argued that the war and senseless killing must come to an end on terms that would be acceptable to Ukraine and Europe. #Ukraina #Venäjä #Sota #US #EU #UA #RU (translated)

The author criticized Trump's actions towards Ukraine and described them as shocking. According to him, the deals would increase Russia's war fund, and their purpose would only be to boost Republican support in the upcoming midterm elections. He also believed that Trump rightly received criticism from his own party. https://t.co/m4k7540VsN #Ukraina #Trump #Venäjä #UA #RU (translated)

Jari Mäkäräinen criticized an article in Helsingin Sanomat and said he had made corrections to it. According to him, the nonfiction writer Ari Haasio and Mattila had suggested that Finnish identity was ambiguous, compared the mistrust faced by evacuees from Karelia to current fears directed at Muslims, and stated that everyone was a descendant of immigrants. Mäkäräinen wrote that migration was an old phenomenon, but migrations from different times could not be equated. He noted that the first people arrived in what is now Finland about 11,000 years ago and believed that this did not provide a basis for equating the current migration from Afghanistan or Somalia with the arrivals of earlier traders, craftsmen, or industrial founders. He described Finlayson as an actor that built factories in capital-poor Finland, brought technology, and created jobs. Mäkäräinen compared him to a Mohammed coming from Somalia, who he described as illiterate and dependent on Kela support. He believed these examples illustrated different types of migration and claimed that there were differences in education, employment, cultural distance, and criminality. He also claimed that those coming from Afghanistan were overrepresented in rape statistics. Regarding the evacuees from Karelia, Mäkäräinen wrote that they had come from within Finland, spoke Finnish, and shared key features of Finnish culture. He said they had faced mistrust and derogatory name-calling, but believed they differed from current arrivals from Afghanistan, for example, in terms of adaptation, work ethic, and use of social security. Mäkäräinen also denied the comparison made by Haasio and Mattila between 19th-century antisemitism and the Somali discussions of the 1990s. According to him, the groups were not similar, and Jews had mostly integrated well. He argued that current migrations should be evaluated based on their impacts on employment, crime, and social security. Finally, he wrote that the continuity of society required, in his opinion, the adaptation of newcomers. #maahanmuutto #suomalaisuus #kulttuuri (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)

The writer suspected that elections would be held in Finland during a state of war. He wrote that afterwards democracy would prevail and anyone could run for office. Additionally, he shared a link to an article from an Italian newspaper, which according to its title stated that Sanna Marin could run for office if Russia were to attack Finland. https://t.co/3UdYODDZqi #Suomi #demokratia #vaalit #FI #RU (translated)

The author claimed that Ukrainian children could still be bombed with Trump's blessing. He wondered what would have happened if Trump had demanded Putin stop the indiscriminate killing and torture of civilians, and referred to Trump ironically as a very stable genius. https://t.co/AxB32IRfHN #Ukraina #Trump #Sota #UA #RU #US (translated)

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)

Yaron Nadbornik criticized Heikki Hiilamo's column published in Yleisradio, stating that it presented a one-sided image connecting the actions of Israel's leadership, Finnish Christian groups, and Minister Antti Häkkänen's visit to the structures of oppression. Nadbornik argued that the column's treatment of Israel and Zionism made Jews collectively responsible and expanded the criticism to also include Israel's supporters and Jews in general. According to Nadbornik, Hiilamo's text divided the parties into white and Christian oppressors and non-white and Muslim victims. He said this framing overlooked the Jewish roots, history, and vulnerability in the Middle East, as well as the fact that millions of people from various backgrounds lived in Israel. He also believed that the framework wrongly fit the conflict into a narrative of Western colonialism and racism and presented Israel as a refuge for a people without another homeland. Nadbornik wrote that the prejudices against Jews were based on their otherness. He noted that studies had shown that Jews living in the diaspora were unjustly held accountable for the actions of the state of Israel. He argued that Hiilamo's rhetoric, which connected Christian groups and ministerial visits with the suffering in Gaza, reinforced this framework. Nadbornik recalled the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, describing it as a massacre involving rapes, mutilations, and the abduction of civilians, including babies, festival-goers, and the elderly, into Israel. He called it the largest single act of violence against Jews since the Holocaust. According to Nadbornik, Hiilamo overlooked the fact that Hamas and Hezbollah openly sought the destruction of Israel in connection with Israel's military actions. He believed that framing the terror attack merely as a security threat or comparing it to Russia's invasion of Ukraine ignored the rights of Israeli citizens to exist and be protected. https://t.co/PFvBFdaoiQ #Israel #Juutalaiset #Rasismi (translated)

The author noted that Pedro Passos Coelho would give an interview to Maria João Avillez on SIC Notícias, between 9 PM and 10 PM, and argued that his governance should be reassessed in light of the financial conditions he encountered. According to the author, Portugal had already requested external assistance when Passos Coelho arrived at the Government in 2011, and the adjustment program of 78 billion euros had been negotiated before he took office. He maintained that during the legislature, exports rose from about one-third of GDP to nearly 40% in 2015, including tourism, and that the tourism sector gained strategic momentum. Regarding privatizations, he acknowledged that some operations were questionable and warranted scrutiny but argued that they allowed the collection of billions of euros, the amortization of public debt, and reduce financing needs and interest burdens. He also considered that cuts in the public sector were painful but questioned what the alternatives would have been when the State could no longer finance itself normally. The author further highlighted that Portugal completed the financial assistance program in 2014 and returned to market financing without a precautionary program, recovering, in his view, decision-making leeway. He stated that Passos Coelho was the most relevant politician of the century in Portugal for having made unpopular decisions and contributed to an economic change whose effects surpassed his Government. #Portugal #Política #Economia (translated)

Niko A. Kauko pondered what would happen to the EU-Finland's support for Ukraine and the cooperation agreements between the countries if Ukraine were to hold elections, choose a new president, and the war were to end. He estimated that with a change in presidency, relations between Ukraine and Russia could also improve. Kauko asked whether Finland's support for Ukraine had ultimately been directed more towards Zelensky and the war than towards Ukraine itself. He referred to Stubbs' statement that the war was "his war," and wondered if Finland's "unwavering Ukraine first" line would fade as the war receded. Kauko described the war fundamentally as a great power conflict and believed that neither side had clean hands. According to him, Finland should not have participated in the conflict other than through diplomacy and mediation. He considered such an approach wise, which, in his assessment, was no longer visible in Finland's stance. #Ukraina #EU #sota (translated)

Campechame stated that Veiga, who was loaned out a few months ago, received more criticism from Televisa than Sánchez, whose low level, as he wrote, the network justified. He added that Sánchez had cost 10 million and had been "stealing" at the club for two years. #Fútbol #Veiga #Sánchez (translated)

Jarno Limnell wrote that the United States' purchases of Russian diesel would bring revenue to Russia's war chest. According to him, Donald Trump simultaneously demanded that Ukraine stop attacks on Russian oil refineries and change its president. Limnell assessed that this meant a significant change in the strategic situation of the war. #Venäjä #Ukraina #diplomatia (translated)

Henri Vanhanen wrote that Donald Trump's Russia policy may not have been guided by a coherent strategy. According to him, Trump made decisions one by one, seeking quick political gains, and then had to fix the consequences. In his assessment, Vanhanen linked Trump's diminished commitment to arming Ukraine, the energy price increases resulting from the war in Iran, and the recent diesel trade with Russia. He believed that trade could bolster the Russian economy and give Vladimir Putin a means to pressure Ukraine into halting strikes on Russia's oil refineries. Vanhanen also criticized Trump for condemning strikes that he claimed weakened Russia's war economy. Vanhanen noted that Trump’s administration had not sought significant new funding from Congress for arming Ukraine. According to him, previously agreed deliveries had continued, and European countries had purchased American weapons for Ukraine. He stated that Trump was not fundamentally on the side of Ukraine or Europe but was primarily pursuing his own interests. According to Vanhanen, Finland's security should not be built on the assumption that there is a plan behind Trump's decisions that would turn in favor of Europe. He urged preparedness for the possibility that U.S. aid could be delayed or smaller than expected, to strengthen the availability of defense equipment and air defense, and to deepen cooperation with Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Britain, Poland, and the Baltic countries. He also believed that Europe should be able to support Ukraine and maintain economic pressure on Russia by its own means. #Trump #Venäjä #Ukraina (translated)

Saara Huhtasaari criticized Petteri Orpo's reaction to the agreement on diesel deliveries between Trump and Putin, describing it as a "terrible disappointment." She characterized Orpo as a European puppet and said he only reacts when the superpower agreement does not fit his narrative of virtue signaling. According to Huhtasaari, Orpo, Alexander Stubb, and the entire European line have been a disappointment for years. She criticized the support given to Ukraine funded by taxpayers, the sanctions against Russia, which she claimed harmed those who imposed them, and the criticism from the United States when, according to her, Washington did not follow Brussels' line. Huhtasaari wrote that the diesel delivery agreement had led to the condemnation of the erosion of sanctions and the accumulation of Putin's war chest. She claimed that the same parties had been supporting the diversion of billions to Ukraine for years and attacks on Russian oil refineries while also wondering about high fuel prices. #EU #Trump #Putin (translated)