Finnish Foreign Minister urges European defense investment to counter Russian threat

DW reports.

"I'm prepared for anything from Putin. It’s time we wake up. Putin is a dictator who only understands power," Valtonen stated.

She highlighted that Germany and France are key targets for Russia in its ongoing hybrid war against the West. According to Valtonen, the Kremlin is focused on spreading disinformation to weaken public support for Ukraine.

Valtonen also expressed that EU countries will likely need to increase defense spending beyond NATO’s 2% GDP target.

"No one wants peace more than Ukraine. But if anyone thinks ending arms supplies will stop the war, I have one thing to say: this won’t end the war; it’ll end Ukraine," she said, stressing the need to support Kyiv.

While she declined to comment on Germany’s decision not to send long-range weapons to Ukraine, she reminded that international law allows strikes on military targets beyond national borders as part of self-defense.

DW also noted that Finland had authorized the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use Finnish-supplied weapons against Russian targets as early as May 2024.

• Finland has faced numerous acts of sabotage and cyberattacks, which it attributes to Russian influence operations against Finland and other European nations.
• In the Finnish town of Vaalimaa, a border fence has already been partially built along the eastern frontier with Russia.