Moscow
March 11, 2025
Russian president Vladimir Putin denounced Finland’s right to stateship in a chilling adress to the world from the Kremlin on Monday night.
In his late night speech, Putin declared that: “Finland’s so called national identity stems from elitist anti-Russian sentiment.” He went on to declare that: “Finland has always been an important part of Russia, which only in recent years, has begun to distain itself from Russia.” Putin also claimed that: “The Finnish government’s anti-Russian sentiment has led to the exclusion and violence against Russians, which needs to be stopped.”
Many western pundits were quick to denounce the blatantly false statements made by Putin. British Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt tweeted: “The speech made by Mr.Putin is extremely uncalled for and concerning. His blatant lies an agressive rhetoric are a grave cause for concern for the security of Europe.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted: “Putin’s statements on Finland’s right to stateship are appalling and downright lies. Germany offers support to Finland and calls for a de-escalation of rhetoric from the Kremlin.
The speech drew an uncanny resemblance to the one Putin gave just over three years ago, before the invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish President Olli Rehn held a press conference Tuesday in which he responded to the statements made by Putin.
“The statements made by Putin are ridiculous and worrisome for the security of the region. Finland has a long and rich history from the 108 years of our independence from Russia. The claims that Finland is in any way harrasing Russians is absolutely untrue. This speech is an attempt to bully Finland — but we refuse to be bullied.”
Rehn also called for calm amongst the public, saying military action against Finland looked “extremely unlikely.”
In early March, Finland reported on Russian military drills in the Murmansk area, near northern Finland. According to new intel, the troops have mostly left the area. On March 8, Finland placed its military on high alert, which includes retraining conscripts.