Finland is looking to Ukraine’s defence experience as the country seeks to fortify a 1,340km border with Russia.
Finland’s army commander, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki, said Kyiv’s “extensive defense lines” and anti-tank obstacles have helped to slow down Russia’s attacks.
“Conditions in Finland are more challenging,” General Pasi Välimäki told Bloomberg.
“If we build fortifications and dig anti-tank ditches or obstacles as deep as those in Ukraine, how long does it take before our environment turns them into artificial ponds?”
The lieutenant also stressed that Russia has already started to rebuild its military and weapons stockpile, with the likes of T-90 tanks and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles delivered to storage facilities.
While Finland is unable to prevent Moscow from rearming, Välimäki said they are aiming to create a “barrier” so that Russia cannot move any further towards Finland, or an alliance.
It comes as both Finland and Norway broke convention to speak directly to Vladimir Putin last week, sparking fury from European leaders.
Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere held “frank and substantive” talks with the Russian president in a bid to influence the Kremlin’s position as the conflict in Ukraine approaches the start of its fifth year.
But the move attracted criticism from their Nordic counterparts including Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen, as they urged Europe’s leaders to “stick together” on Ukraine.
In a joint statement, Stoere said he and Stubb had spoken to Putin for about 90 minutes, and linked the initiative to planned peace discussions between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in Abu Dhabi next month. The discussions will be their first since February.
They said they had then spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed the call had been coordinated with Kyiv, calling it “the right approach”.
“We welcome such active support for our diplomatic efforts and peace process,” he said, adding that he also hoped a local ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky could “pave the way to other steps in the peace process”.
“The discussion was frank and substantive,” Stubb said. “We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions.”
Stoere said he and Stubb had “stressed the importance of de-escalation,” and that both had voiced strong support for Ukraine.
But Frederiksen hit out at the call, saying she saw no signs that Russia wanted peace, adding: “I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo.”
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