Former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin has said Europe cannot rule out the prospect of war with Russia.
She has called on the European Union to build its own independent military capabilities and strengthen European nuclear deterrence.
Marin made the comments in an interview with Euronews today, as debate over European defence intensified following fresh discussions between France and Poland on joint nuclear exercises.
She said Europe remained “vulnerable” and urged EU member states to stop depending on the US for security and instead develop genuinely independent defence structures, with a stronger nuclear deterrent at their core.
The warning is the latest in a long line of similar alarms from Brussels and European capitals. For years, leaders from across the traditional political spectrum — socialists and social democrats alongside centre-right parties aligned with the European People’s Party (EPP) — have told citizens that conflict with Russia is a genuine and growing threat.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has made the argument repeatedly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On the centre-left, figures such as former German chancellor Olaf Scholz and former European Council president Charles Michel also joined the chorus, even as critics argued their governments were slow to translate the rhetoric into concrete military commitments.
The comments come two days after French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met in Gdańsk, Poland, to discuss joint military exercises incorporating elements of the French nuclear deterrence system. The broader initiative also involves Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
Warsaw has so far declined the deployment of French nuclear-armed aircraft on Polish territory, although Tusk confirmed Poland’s intention to participate.
Marin’s remarks came as European foreign ministers were grappling with the status of a €35 billion loan to Ukraine, held up by a Hungarian veto. Hungary’s power to block the funds is set to expire imminently, according to EU officials.
The question of support for Ukraine has taken on fresh urgency as peace negotiations between the US, Ukraine and Russia have produced little visible progress.
European governments have grown increasingly anxious about Washington’s commitment under President Donald Trump’s administration, which has signalled a desire to scale back US involvement in the conflict.
The Kremlin described the France-Poland nuclear exercise discussions as confirmation of what it called Europe’s push towards militarisation and nuclearisation. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the plans were “provocative”.
From Finland, a country sharing a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia that joined NATO only three years ago, Marin’s voice carries particular resonance. Her government steered Finland’s accession to the alliance under sustained pressure from Moscow.
Her message today was direct: Europe must build the military and nuclear capabilities to defend itself and must not take peace with Russia for granted.
