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ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE Gets More Ammo As Finland Ignores Putin's Troops on their Border. Pfft! [1]

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Date: 2025-05-19

The question as to what to do with Russia’s gigantic frozen assets locked up in European countries(and elsewhere) has been a recurrent one with disparate but generally indecisive actions taken by various countries in regards thereto. The policy-making Kabuki dance has manifested itself this way … whenever the matter of seizing the Russian assets comes up for discussion, Putin and his minions in the Kremlin ratchet up the retaliatory talk and the attendant perennial nuclear saber rattling. And as if on que the air in any such confiscation effort quickly fizzles out of the balloon.

A unified approach on confiscation has so far eluded the folks at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and other international capitals. Last year an agreement was finally reached on a policy initiative called the European Peace Facility (EPF) :

The EU’s decision to use the profits generated by frozen Russian assets On 21 May(2024), the Council of the European Union approved a plan to allocate the profits generated by frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine. Central securities depositories in the EU (national or international financial institutions managing the settlement of securities, such as stocks and bonds) holding Russian state assets and reserves exceeding €1 million will transfer the net profits earned from them since 15 February 2024 to aid Kyiv. The earnings generated before this date will be retained by the central depositories as a safeguard to cover the potential legal costs resulting from actions that Russia may take. The EU’s decision will make it possible to allocate a total of €2.5–3 billion annually to support Ukraine, depending on the interest rates. Payments will be made in two tranches, and the first one is expected to be disbursed in June this year. 90% of these funds will go to the European Peace Facility (EPF), which finances military support from EU member states, and the remaining 10% will be used to address Ukraine’s other needs (including budget support and the reconstruction of the country). www.osw.waw.pl/...

So every once in a while now, some of the proceeds(profit?) from those Russian assets are peeled off through the EPF mechanism and used to assist Ukraine in one form or another. But the assets themselves remain untouched. To date Putin’s billions in European countries remain largely intact.

Along those lines, Finland, today[May 19, 2025] having recently signed a bilateral defense cooperation agreement with Ukraine announced that it is tapping the proceeds of Russian assets in Finland to aid Ukraine, specifically to supply much needed ammunition to Ukraine:

Finland to use proceeds from frozen Russian assets to supply ammunition to Ukraine full-scale invasion in 2022, the Finnish defence ministry said on Monday. Finland will supply 90 million euros ($101.35 million) of ammunition to Ukraine by using proceeds from Russian financial assets frozen by the European Union after Moscow'sin 2022, the Finnish defence ministry said on Monday. has estimated that 210 billion euros of the roughly $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets are held in the 27-nation bloc, mainly in the form of government bonds that Russia's central bank had stored as reserves. The EUbillion euros of the roughly $300 billion worth of frozen Russian assets are held in the 27-nation bloc, mainly in the form of government bonds that Russia's central bank had stored as reserves. www.yahoo.com/...

This is in addition to the nearly 1% of its GDP Finland has been giving in support of Ukraine’s war effort against Russia’s invasion:

Finland’s military assistance to Ukraine has grown significantly in both scale and purpose. Between April 2024 and April 2025, Finland delivered six military aid packages totaling €900 million, contributing to a broader commitment that has reached €2.7 billion since Russia’s full-scale invasion. In total, Finland has sent 28 comprehensive military aid packages, placing it among the top five countries globally in support for Ukraine relative to GDP. Its combined military and non-military assistance equals 0.98% of Finland’s GDP—a remarkable figure for a country of its size and economic scale. While package details remain classified, Finnish and Ukrainian officials confirmed the inclusion of 155mm artillery shells, air defense systems, and critical winter gear for troops. Notably, Finland is one of the few countries that allows Ukraine to use its supplied weapons on Russian territory, reinforcing its firm stance on Ukraine’s right to defend itself beyond its borders. euromaidanpress.com/...

Yes, that is indeed “a remarkable figure for a country of its size and economic scale.” But what is even more remarkable about what Finland is doing is the fact that it is doing so with the expressed and manifest threat of possible military action from Russia. To discourage Finland and other Baltic countries from their ardent support of Ukraine, Putin is massing troops on the border with Finland and thereby NATO’s eastern flank:

Satellite Images Show Russian Troops Build-Up at NATO Border Satellite imagery has revealed an increase in Russia's military activity near its border with Finland signaling its intention to beef up its troops by NATO's eastern flank. The pictures from earth imaging company Planet Labs PBC show increased accommodation, aircraft deployment, and infrastructure construction at four military bases near the country. Finnish military analyst Emil Kastehelmi said if Russia follows it current plans, there could be tens of thousands new soldiers near the borders of Norway, Finland and the Baltic countries in the coming years. www.newsweek.com/...

Well, if the Finns are even the least bit worried about Putin’s threats, they are not letting it show. They are absolutely confident that once again, as they had done twice in the 1940s, they will hold their own, give the Russians all they can handle and then some:

Finland is Ready to Fight Russia if Attacked, Says Defense Chief "Finland has prepared for a Russian attack for decades and would put up stiff resistance should one occur", its armed forces chief says. Finland has built up a substantial arsenal. However, aside from the military hardware, Finnish General Timo Kivinen says that a crucial factor is that Finns would be motivated to fight. www.highnorthnews.com/...

Then the Finnish Defense Chief gives Ukraine the ultimate “attaboy”:

“The most important line of defense is between one’s ears, as the war in Ukraine proves at the moment,” Kivinen said in an interview with Reuters.

It is as if the Finns are looking on at Putin and the Russians doing all those gyrations, triple somersaults and other military contortions on their 1,800 mile common border and somewhat bemused just tossing out a collective “Pfft”... we’ve seen this before. We got this.

ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE … with equally adaptive indomitable and dauntless friends like Finland, victory will be the only outcome. Russia will be defeated ... just as the Finns did, TWICE!

SLAVA UKRAINI! PEREMOHA(Victory)

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/5/19/2323317/-ADAPTIVE-INDOMITABLE-UKRAINE-Gets-More-Ammo-As-Finland-Ignores-Putin-s-Troops-on-Border-Pfft?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

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