Putin makes almost no progress in Ukraine compared with Stalin's WWII success, says Finland's Stubb
Photo: Finnish President Alexander Stubb (Getty Images)
Finland's President Alexander Stubb, in an interview with Associated Press, said Putin has achieved little in four years beyond dubious "territorial gains" at an enormous human cost. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, in the same four-year period, captured Berlin.
Stubb told AP that Russia has accomplished almost nothing since February 2022. He noted that Russian forces have still failed to reach Kyiv, even as the fourth year of the war comes to an end.
Stubb also pointed out that Soviet leader Stalin, whom Russian propagandists sometimes compare to Putin, defeated Nazi Germany and took Berlin within four years. Putin, by contrast, has not reached Kyiv and will not.
"In World War II, Stalin was in Berlin for four years. We're almost four years into the war, and Russia is nowhere near Kyiv — and they're not going to get there," Stubb said.
Stubb's view is shared by US President Donald Trump, with whom the Finnish leader maintains friendly relations. On September 23, Trump called Russia a "paper tiger," saying it has been fighting aimlessly for more than three years.
The "paper tiger" comment reportedly triggered a mix of hysteria and threats from Putin toward NATO, prompting ridicule of the Russian leader across Europe.
Analysts and media report that Russia's spring 2025 offensive in Ukraine has achieved minimal gains at a staggering cost. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have killed at least 100,000 Russian troops, while Russia captured only 0.4% of Ukrainian territory.
From November 2022, after Ukraine's major counteroffensives ended, Russian forces occupied 5,842 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory by the end of August 2025, about 0.96% of the country. They suffered massive losses in the process. Nearly one million Russian soldiers were killed, severely wounded, went missing, or were captured, meaning Russia lost 171 troops for every square kilometer it seized.
