UNITED NATIONS — As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns that Russia could take its war beyond Ukraine, Finnish President Alexander Stubb is striking a markedly calmer tone — saying Finland is prepared for Moscow and crediting President Donald Trump with pushing harder for a negotiated end to the war. "I think we're certainly in a better place than we were before President Trump started," Stubb told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
"He's doubled down in the past year and a half to try to find a solution for peace with negotiators such as Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and many others." Stubb, who has been closely involved in the diplomatic effort, said he and Norway’s prime minister have worked largely "in the back office," relaying information among Ukraine, the United States and European governments. KUSHNER, WITKOFF SET FOR KYIV TALKS AFTER PUTIN MEETING IN US PUSH FOR PEACE "I think he's really working hard and hopefully we'll get a solution," Stubb said. The interview came during an intense diplomatic week in New York focused heavily on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in New York during UNGA week as Washington continued its effort to revive negotiations with Moscow. Zelenskyy said peace remained Ukraine's priority and thanked Trump for sending the two envoys to Kyiv after they had also held talks in Moscow. Zelenskyy was asked by Fox News Digital after the meeting about the possibility that Russia could invade or attack another European country in the near future.
BATTLE-TESTED ZELENSKYY SOUNDS CHILLING ALARM ON WHERE PUTIN’S WAR COULD HEAD NEXT "That's why the risk of offensive by drones, missiles or land operation is very high against other countries who are bordering Russia or Belarus," Zelenskyy said. The Ukrainian leader argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin, unable to achieve his military objectives in Ukraine, could seek to create instability elsewhere in Europe to pressure Western governments into reducing their support for Kyiv. He pointed to drone incursions and disruptions affecting several European countries, arguing that Moscow is already attempting to intimidate European societies and test their response.
Asked by Fox News Digital what European countries should do in response to the growing threat, Zelenskyy offered a direct answer. If you don't respond, Russians, they will go further," he said. But Stubb struck a notably calmer tone when asked about Zelenskyy’s warnings that Russia could eventually attack other European countries, including Finland, which shares the longest border with Russia.
"As commander-in-chief in Finland, I sit on all the relevant information and I just don't see a factual basis for it," Stubb said. RUSSIA'S SHADOW WAR IS PUTTING EUROPE ON EDGE AS GERMANY CONFRONTS A GROWING THREAT That does not mean, he stressed, that Moscow has stopped targeting Europe. Stubb distinguished between the "kinetic" war Russia is fighting in Ukraine and what he described as a broader "hybrid" campaign in Europe, pointing to cyberattacks, sabotage and damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.
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