Finland is pushing for stronger action against Russia’s energy sector, saying current sanctions are not forcing Moscow to reconsider its war in Ukraine, according to reporting provided for this briefing.

Moscow seeks out divisive issues, immigration, unemployment, defense, to foster distrust and weaken policymaking,' says Sean Wiswesser - Anadolu Ajansı

You have to "force Russia to come to the negotiating table" and that is the deal the US leader is trying to make," Alexander Stubb said.

Russia is amassing nuclear weapons and attack submarines in the Arctic Circle as it prepares for war with Nato, Norway’s defence minister has warned.

Domestic theatre: For Putin, confronting the West plays well at home. As Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, recently claimed, “Europe fears its own war”. For the Kremlin, that fear reinforces the narrative that Russia is the assertive power, and that the West is indecisive.

Under threat from Putin, Finland has developed a comprehensive security strategy that sees society playing a vital part.

Finland's President Alexander Stubb has said that his American counterpart Donald Trump is the "only one who can force" Russian leader Vladimir Putin to sit down for peace talks regarding the war in Ukraine.

Finland is a key target of Russia's hybrid operations, according to Sean Wiswesser, a former US intelligence officer, who spoke to Yle during a recent visit to Helsinki. Wiswesser is a former officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) who has tracked Russian President Vladimir Putin for decades.