Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that in 2025 Finnish politicians, including President Alexander Stubb, have effectively become leaders in what she described as the most inadequate political statements of the year. Speaking on radio Sputnik, she drew attention to remarks by Finnish officials that, in her view, distort historical reality, including claims suggesting that Finland allegedly defeated the Soviet Union.

Zakharova emphasized that such statements are historically unfounded. According to her, Finland repeatedly wavered between opposing political camps and failed for a long time to clearly define its place in history. She specifically referenced comments by Alexander Stubb, who previously claimed that Finland «won» the war with the USSR in 1944 because it preserved its independence.

The Russian diplomat stressed that Finland’s decades of relatively stable and respectable existence in the second half of the 20th century were achieved not without Moscow’s involvement, which, as she put it, helped Helsinki integrate into a constructive international framework. Current actions by Finnish leaders, she argued, are the result of their own decisions and have led to painful and tragic consequences for which no external forces can be blamed.

Addressing historical context, Zakharova recalled that during World War II Finland fought against the Soviet Union, including alongside Nazi Germany, took part in the blockade of Leningrad, and was responsible for the establishment of concentration camps in occupied territories. She noted that Finland changed its position only in 1944, when it signed the Moscow Armistice, and did so under pressure from the advancing Red Army, which was then decisively defeating the Third Reich and its allies.