CeeJee posted:

A year ago that same paper, in fact the same journalist, wrote the Kherson offensive was going nowhere and Ukraine was suffering massive losses to the vastly superior Russian defenders.

quote:

Iltalehti pulled out five central points from Niinistö's speech to Finland's diplomats.

1. Russia is building an image of us as the enemy

According to Niinistö, it is not currently possible to have diplomatic relations with Russia.

- Russia is rapidly building an image of us as the enemy. They are primarily doing this for internal reasons, but the effects will be felt externally as well. They are turning cause and effect inside out, and making the invader into the victim, Finland and the West into a threat and danger. That is the twisted nature of Russia's war of information.

Finland has to prepare for attacks by Russia or its catspaws.

- We must prepare for malicious acts of various natures. Several types of cyber or hybrid attacks occur routinely. At the Polish and Latvian borders we are seeing the increasing pressure of illegal immigration. News from Sweden remind us to be vigilant of the threat of terrorism. We are not immune to this either. These times require for us and our allies to be ever watchful.

2. The United States are an important ally
Niinistö says that the Baltic Sea has almost become a Nato inland sea. Both in Nato and in direct relationships the United States are Finland's most important ally.

- Our relationship with the USA is stronger now than it ever has been, and it will become even stronger because of our bilateral defence co-operation agreement. Finland will continue to be primarily responsible for its own security, but we will do it as a member state of Nato and a close ally of its member states. Not only will this maximize our own security, but it will also strengthen the security of our allies, Niinistö comments on Finland's status as the border state betwen Nato and Russia.

Niinistö says that Finland's role in Nato's structures has been formally finalized.

- But the actual practical work is just beginning, he stresses.

3. The Nordic brand
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland form a quintet, which their leaders will present as a united whole in the future.

- Being a Nordic state isn't merely a political framework for us, it's a very base level identity and set of values. It is a group of united nations, who are capable of working together and sharing responsibility. To help provide security for each other if called to. And to protect the values we hold dear.

In foreign and security policy, as well as in economics, the Nordic nations can work together in the world. Niinistö stresses the need to continue top level Nordic summits. It is possible to attract guests from the very top level of inflience in the world.

- The Nordic nations are attractive. In May I had the honour of hosting president Zelenskyy in Helsinki togethre with other Nordic prime ministers. In July we met again, this time also hosting the US President Joe Biden. I believe that in the future, the Nordic brand will bring us even closer together.

4. The calamity of climate change

According to Niinistö, the current summer has shown how urgent the danger of climate change has become, and how important it is to act now.

- Roasting heat waves and unprecedentedly strong wildfires have raged in places, while historic rains and floods cause damage elsewhere.

According to the President this is only a sign of what's to come, unless we control climate change now.

- We are on the verge of an irrevocable tilting point. In this situation everyone needs to wake up to the fact that there is no place on this Earth that could avoid serious difficulties.

The President stresses that climate change won't be controlled by making speeches, or just internally in Finland.

- We need far reaching global actions. We have been saying for a long time that this is the case, but they really cannot be delayed any further.

5. A battle for souls
The world is on the verge of breaking down into camps. BRICS nations, ie. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa recently had their summit in South Africa.

- However, one was missing from the guest list. Russia's president Putin only participated remotely. This is a sign that the International Criminal Court has some power, Niinistö says.

Democracies must act globally, and not just by pointing fingers.

- We are in the middle of a battle for the souls of nations. You frequently hear it said that the West needs a better narrative. Clearly a good and clear story doesn't hurt, but the world isn't built on arguments alone. You need to back them up with clear actions, which show whose word is trustworthy and whose isn't.

6. The importance of Ukrainian independence to Finland
Niinistö brought up a Finnish diplomat Herman Gummerus, who served in Ukraine over 100 years ago. Back then Ukraine's independence was short lived, as bolsheviks forcibly brought the country into the Soviet Union.

- One of his central findings was the strong national identity and patriotism of Ukraine. He saw that Ukraine shouldn't have to settle for being subjugated, and also that Ukraine's freedom was in Finland's best interest.

Niinistö quoted Gummerus: "Us Finns will rejoice as Ukraine's fight for independence succeeds, as it is so strongly in the interests of our own country". According to Niinistö Ukraine's independence is still in Finland's best interest today.

- In many ways the world and Finland have changed, but these findings have not.

7. Diplomacy still has value
Ambassadors must continue peaceful diplomacy, even though Russia and certain other nations might not respond to them in a friendly way.

- Finland has never built its external and internal politics on military threats. The need for our own diplomacy has not gone down. Quite the opposite. We still believe in the power of dialogue and co-operation everywhere, where it is at all possible. We still seek to unite, not divide, and to increase mutual respect and trust. Going forward, Finland will still continue to try to find common denominators, even if they are the smallest.

tango alpha delta posted:

re: F-16's

Anyone mocking the F16 doesn't understand; Vipers are really, really loving loud and they shake the walls and knock things off shelves when they fly overhead. Don't underestimate how intimidating a combat fighter from the 1970's and early 80's can be.

Burns posted:

Most importantly, the F-35 is an austhetically unpleasing fighter jet.

Elyv posted:

The Russians have found the purpose of the biolabs

lifetime supply of Pocky posted:

lmao i knew i recognized that stink

Doomer WaPo journo posted:

Joint war games conducted by the U.S., British and Ukrainian militaries anticipated such losses but envisioned Kyiv accepting the casualties as the cost of piercing through Russia’s main defensive line, said U.S. and Western officials.
---
U.S. officials said the Pentagon recommended multiple times that Ukraine concentrate a large mass of forces on a single breakthrough point. Though Ukraine opted for a different strategy, officials said it was Kyiv’s call to make given the profound sacrifice Ukrainian troops were making on the battlefield.

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

They have also pledged that we will not give a single euro of support, or support of any other kind, to countries that support Russia's war.

Samovar posted:

Russia's Sacred Band of Dweebs.

Anders posted:

I live in a place where NATO drills are fairly common - and low-flying F-16s are really loud yo

CommissarMega posted:

pls

tiaz posted:

All fighter jets are 110-140dB from 1000' away or something nuts like that. It just isn't a relevant metric to the performance of the vehicle, and so they're as loud as they are.

tiaz posted:

All fighter jets are 110-140dB from 1000' away or something nuts like that. It just isn't a relevant metric to the performance of the vehicle, and so they're as loud as they are.

Der Kyhe posted:

Have you considered that this "evil empire" thinking might label the child-murderers as bad people? The morally superior way is to just whistle loudly and look away.

Anders posted:

I live in a place where NATO drills are fairly common - and low-flying F-16s are really loud yo

Tai posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IxwBh5wDF0

N00000KS!

Tai posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IxwBh5wDF0

N00000KS!

Shaman Tank Spec posted:

zone posted:

Sladkov appears to have gone completely insane. Near as I can make out, he's apparently talking about how Puccia got hosed on the Zaporizhzhia front.

Kennedy posted:

This was a great read, thanks for translating. Overall that messaging feels super solid to me, how has it gone down in-country?

Elyv posted:

The Russians have found the purpose of the biolabs

Mistle posted:

Please send me a big strong gay Ukrainian super soldier lady, I wouldn't mind being protected

zone posted:

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1693533407454572789#m

zone posted:

Normal actions of normal law enforcement in a normal country.

zone posted:

Evil Ukronazis attacked critical Puccian infrastructure. Another war crime.

Prettz posted:

You can fire an AMRAAM off into the distance with no radar lock, but you'll be assuming it won't hit anything. If letting the missile lock onto a target by itself was reliable they'd do it all the time.

ded posted:

the missing ingredient to supersoldiers was.... gay?????????????

Tai posted:

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1693953760265978241

They seem pretty happy to see the Ukraine army despite voting 96% in favour to join Russia forever.

staberind posted:

Lol, every empire has been "evil" to those around it. and deffo to those who are opressed by them, ask any Indian or Irish about britain and is surprising how you hear much the same thing about their depravity.

You are certainly as welcome as I can possibly make you.

Anders posted:

I'm confused - what was your point?