Finnish President Excludes the Possibility of a Ceasefire Between Russia and Ukraine Soon

SadaNews - Finnish President Alexander Stubb has ruled out the likelihood of reaching a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, which announced today, Sunday, the downing of 57 Ukrainian drones during the night. Meanwhile, Kyiv announced preparations for a prisoner exchange with Moscow.

In his interview with the Associated Press published today, the Finnish president said it is unlikely that a ceasefire will be reached in Ukraine before spring, considering that it needs continued support from its European allies despite the corruption scandal sweeping through Kyiv.

The agency pointed out that the reason for choosing the Finnish president for a dialogue regarding this war is that he is one of the main European interlocutors between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Stubb is leveraging his good relationship with Trump, as the two play golf together and regularly speak to advocate for Ukraine's cause.

Additionally, he is the leader of one of the smallest countries in Europe, which shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, and he is well aware that he is at stake.

The agency reminded that during the 1940s, after two wars with Russia, Finland lost about 10% of its territory to Moscow and agreed to military neutrality, a position that did not change until after the Russian war on Ukraine when Finns joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

He said, "I can explain to President Trump what Finland has gone through, or how I see the situation on the battlefield, or how we deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin? Then - as you know - if he accepts one idea out of 10, that will be good."

Stubb spoke to the Associated Press on Saturday at a military base north of the capital Helsinki, stating, "Zelensky needs to quickly handle allegations of bribery and embezzlement, as this scandal benefits Russia."

However, the Finnish president urged European leaders to consider increasing financial and military support for Kyiv, which is also facing increasing Russian gains on the battlefield.

He said, "I am not very optimistic about reaching a ceasefire or starting peace negotiations, at least this year," adding that it would be good to achieve "progress" by next March.

He added that the three main issues on the table for a ceasefire are "security guarantees for Ukraine, rebuilding its economy, and coming to some understanding regarding territorial claims."

The Finnish president believes that to achieve peace in Ukraine, Trump and European leaders need to increase pressure on Russia and on Putin to change his strategic thinking.

He explained that Putin "essentially wants to deprive Ukraine of its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity," which are goals that have not changed since the war began nearly 4 years ago.

To achieve this, he suggested using tools like hundreds of billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets in Europe as guarantees to finance Ukraine, in addition to increasing military pressure on Moscow.

Stubb believes that Russia is not only waging war in Ukraine but is also waging a hybrid war in Europe, stating, "The line between war and peace has been blurred, and Russia is trying to destabilize Europe and create chaos and panic through attacks that include arson, sabotage, and propaganda."

Drones and Prisoners

On the battlefield front, the TASS news agency reported today, Sunday, citing daily data from the Russian Defense Ministry, that Russian air defense systems destroyed 57 Ukrainian drones during the night.

On his part, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov - who currently serves as the Secretary General of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine - wrote on Telegram that Ukraine and Russia are preparing to resume the halted process of exchanging prisoners of war.

He also predicted that it would resume soon to recover 1,200 Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity, noting that he held talks at the instruction of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with mediators in Turkey and the UAE to revive prisoner exchange operations.

Umerov stated that the core issues have been clarified and that technical consultations regarding the implementation will begin soon so that the soldiers can return home before Christmas.

Umerov headed the Ukrainian negotiating delegation in talks with Russia earlier this year.

The most important result of the negotiations in May and June was the agreement on the exchange of prisoners, which continued in the following months but has since stopped.

Negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv regarding ending the war that has lasted more than 3 and a half years also came to a halt since Umerov was transferred from his position.

Source: Agencies