Finland’s President Alexander Stubb told a high‑level National Defence Course (Maanpuolustuskurssi) audience that the world has entered a new nuclear age, with the role of nuclear weapons rising and strategic stability shifting.
Speaking on 3 November 2025 at the House of Nobility (Ritarihuone) in Helsinki, Stubb said Finland’s security environment is “harsher than we would prefer,” and argued that supporting Ukraine against Russia’s aggression strengthens Finland’s own defence.
Why Stubb calls it a ‘new nuclear age’
Stubb said the logic of deterrence is changing and the strategic stability among major powers is being reshaped. In his view, the new nuclear age reflects a growing salience of nuclear arsenals within broader power competition. This, he argued, requires allied coordination on escalation management and sustained investment in credible deterrence.
Ukraine’s war, Russia’s aims and Finland’s deterrence
The president framed today’s security calculus by starting with Russia’s objectives and methods. He noted that Ukraine is in its fourth year of war and “fighting for the whole of Europe and democracy.”
Finland, he added, benefits from supporting Kyiv because Ukrainian forces possess unparalleled insight into modern warfare, yielding practical lessons for Finnish defence. While Russia poses no immediate military threat to Finland, Stubb said sustained preparation and capability development aim to ensure it stays that way.
Hybrid threats and Finland’s ‘mental infrastructure’
Stubb warned that hybrid influencing—from cyber operations to critical infrastructure disruption—demands comprehensive resilience. Alongside physical and digital assets, he stressed a third pillar: mental infrastructure.
This “cognitive capital” underpins crisis endurance and national unity, and must be guarded as carefully as hardware and networks.
USA role: closer ties, shifting focus
Stubb described Finland’s bilateral defence cooperation with the United States as thriving, while acknowledging a structural shift as Washington’s strategic attention is “turning its gaze partly elsewhere.” For Finland, this reinforces the need to deepen NATO, EU, Nordefco and JEF cooperation, and to refine allied deterrence on the Nordic and Baltic flank.
What Finland has already done: Nato, F‑35s, budget
Finland’s recent moves include accession to NATO, increased defence expenditure, and the acquisition of 64 F‑35 fighters to replace the F‑18 fleet. Stubb called these steps part of a long‑term modernisation across the Army, Navy and Air Force, alongside investments in cyber, space and autonomous systems. “Peace and freedom come at a price,” he said, arguing that capability upgrades and stockpiles must keep pace with rising risks.
Echoes of history—and what comes next
Stubb cautioned against “nostalgia,” noting how the war in Ukraine blends 20th‑century mass warfare with autonomous weapons systems. He urged taking “the world as it is,” while preparing for where it is headed.
For Finland, that means combining national readiness with allied integration, and treating resilience, deterrence and unity as core strategic assets in a new nuclear age.
