Members of pro-Kremlin political party in Latvia – Latvian Russians Union – threaten with «war» if Victory Monument is tampered with, as reported by Neatkarīgā Rīta Avīze (NRA). «Any attempt to move the monument by even a millimetre will be equal to declaration of war, and we won’t be takingContinue Reading
She took to Twitter to post pictures from Borodyanka, a town near Kyiv. “Today, my visit to Ukraine started in Borodyanka. No words could possibly describe what I saw and felt here,” Simonyte tweeted. The pictures show Simonyte accompanied by her Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal and Ukrainian troops looking atContinue Reading
The closure of Russian airspace is causing uncertainty in Lapland’s tourism industry, which has relied heavily on travel from Asian countries. The amount of Asian tourists visiting Finnish Lapland has been growing year after year, before stopping completely because of the pandemic. Now, after many travel restrictions have been lifted,Continue Reading
“Our main message was that Russia must end the war,” the Norwegian PM told journalists shortly after he had spent one hour on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Støre had consulted with allied leaders in the Nordic region, Europe and the USA, and the Kremlin was approached byContinue Reading
The security policy situation has changed, the Government says and adds another 3,5 billion kroner (€362 million) to the budget for strengthening defense and civil preparedness. Russia’s operation in Ukraine “represents a turning point for Norwegian and European security,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said at a press conference inContinue Reading
In a recent interview with Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), former Finnish President Tarja Halonen compared the Baltic countries’ accession to NATO in 2004 to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania belonging to the Soviet Union. “They were used to being part of a collective security system during the Soviet era,” Halonen toldContinue Reading
Russia’s operation in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russia are impacting businesses in Finland, according to a survey by the Finland Chamber of Commerce. The majority of the companies polled—62 percent—said that the ongoing crisis has hampered their operations. However, only a fifth of respondents expect a decline inContinue Reading
In the latest of a series of interviews on possible Nato membership, the president seemed to suggest that the benefits would outweigh the downsides. President Sauli Niinistö says it is clear that possible Finnish membership in Nato would permanently increase tensions with Russia along the two countries’ border. Interviewed onContinue Reading
Just over a week ago, it remained unclear whether the Saimaa Canal would open, due to possible EU sanctions on Russia. The Saimaa Canal officially re-opens on Monday, although resumption of traffic will depend on ice and weather conditions. Canal authorities announced on Friday that the annual traffic season onContinue Reading
European leaders have agreed to tighten the existing sanctions against Russia after war in Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says, adding, however, that some EU member states are not yet ready to stop imports of Russian resources. “Yes, we have to admit that some countries are not yet ready toContinue Reading