Finnish president says Russia is 'not going to win' war in Ukraine

During the interview, Stubb was asked where the peace talks on Ukraine currently stand, as he had been fairly optimistic earlier in the summer.

In response, the Finnish president said that Ukraine is now in a better position militarily, politically and financially than it was a year ago. According to him, peace negotiations have restarted, with a lot of shuttle diplomacy now underway, and "people are looking for some kind of a partial ceasefire" before winter. In this context, he mentioned the visits by Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and John Ratcliffe to Moscow and later Kyiv, as well as the efforts of US President Donald Trump.

Asked whether efforts toward a potential agreement had intensified because of high energy prices, Stubb said this was "part of it," linking the issue both to Ukraine striking Russian oil refineries and to the war in the Middle East.

He also said that Ukraine is now in a stronger position on the battlefield and believes the country is winning. The Finnish president pointed to two factors: casualties and territorial gains. According to him:

• The ratio of Ukrainian to Russian casualties is one to five.

• Russia has captured 900 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory this year, while Ukraine has taken back 800 square kilometers.

Given the situation, Stubb said Russia needs to be convinced to end the war, and Putin must be brought to the negotiating table.

"So I think the message that we have to the Russians is that, listen, you guys are not going to win this. So let's try to end it. Zelenskyy wants peace. Trump wants peace, and now we need to get Putin to the peace table," Stubb said.

He added that if there were a partial ceasefire, the message would be:

"Okay, if Ukraine doesn't hit oil refineries, then Russia should not hit energy and electricity installations in Ukraine, especially as winter is coming," the Finnish president said.

He added that such an arrangement would have to work both ways, describing it as a "transactional deal."

Peace talks and ending the war

A few hours earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview that it would make sense to end Russia's war against Ukraine because there would be no winners. He noted that neither side would achieve military superiority and that the parties would ultimately reach a peace agreement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 22. After the meeting, he spoke with journalists and outlined the conditions for an energy truce with Russia.

Zelenskyy also expressed hope that, with the help of US President Donald Trump, the war could still be ended before winter.