Tuomas

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@RepDonBacon @RepDonBacon America is so much better than this. I really hope you will soundly reject these thugs. Best wishes from Finland

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@chrispronger It’s hard being a fan for the Finnish team tbh. Going from desperation to euphoria in about 10 min

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@IAPonomarenko Kiitos! All the best from Helsinki!! 🇫🇮🇺🇦

[Jocka Träskbäck @Jocka]

Viikon tärkein kirjoitus on tässä. Lue. Ja sitten lue vielä uudelleen.

"Suomi on moniongelmainen. Kun ongelmia ei ole korjattu ajoissa, tarvitaan lopulta moottorisahaa muutokseen."

https://t.co/kXnWRoQYKW

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

"On Tyranny" is a #1 NYT bestseller again. I wish the moment were different. But I’m glad the book is useful. And grateful for all the kind words about putting the 20 lessons to work.

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@Gerashchenko_en First snowfall of the summer is a common occurrence in Finland

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@Janicky Vesikosken Vapahtaja

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@Harri_Est 🇫🇮🫡

[Arja Paananen @ArjaPaananen]

Trump luulee, että Putin on aidosti hänen ystävänsä. Tässä yritän selittää, kuinka Venäjä voi saada sellaisen otteen ihmisestä. #Venäjä #Putin #Trump https://t.co/ASLg4AkCDw

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy breaks his silence on Donald Trump's disastrous Oval Office outburst with stunning grace and class — but refuses to apologize to Trump as demanded by MAGA.

And the best part? He did it on Fox News.

This is what a real world leader sounds like...

"President Trump said after your meeting that you disrespected him and the vice president and all of America in the Oval Office," said Fox News' Bret Baier when Zelenskyy appeared on his show. "Do you think you did? And do you think you owe an apology to President Trump?"

"Thank you so much. First of all, thank you for the invitation, for this dialogue and good evening to all of your country, to all Americans," said Zelenskyy. "I'm very thankful to Americans for all your support. You did a lot. I'm thankful to President Trump and to Congress's bipartisan support and I was always very thankful from all of our people."

"You helped us a lot from the very beginning, here in three years of full scale invasion. You helped us to survive and anyway we are strategic partners," he continued.

"And even in such tough dialogue — and I think we have to be very honest and we have to be very direct to understand each other because it's for us very necessary," said Zelenskyy.

"To President Trump — and with all respect that he wants to finish this war — but nobody wants to finish more than we because we in Ukraine we are in this war, we are in this battle for freedom, for our lives," he went on.

"So I'm just telling that I think we have to be on the same side and I hope that the president on our side together with us and that is very important to stop Putin," continued Zelenskyy. "And I heard from President Trump a lot of times that he will stop the war and I hope he will. And we need to pressure him with Europe, with all the partners."

"And I think this dialogue had to be a little bit earlier to understand where we are," he continued. "Like you know, I don't remember exactly, but like President Reagan said that peace is not just the absence of war."

"Yes, we are speaking about just, lasting peace, about freedom, about justice, about human rights and that's why I said that 'I think so' to ceasefire," he went on. "And you know Putin, he's broken twenty-five times ceasefire during all these years, ten years."

"So I'm not hearing from you Mr. President a thought that you owe the president an apology," said Baier, clearly trying to pander to Trump who was almost certainly watching at home.

"No I respect the president and I respect the American people and if — I don't know, I think that we have to be very open and very honest and I'm not sure that we did something bad," replied Zelenskyy.

"I think maybe somethings we have to discuss out of media, with all respect to democracy and free media but there are things where we have to understand the position of Ukraine and Ukrainians," he added. "And I think that is the most important thing."

"We are partners. We are very close partners. We have to be fair. We have to be very free," said Zelenskyy, sounding far more like an American president than Donald Trump did today.

This is an astonishing display of statesmanship. Rather than give into ego or pettiness, Zelenskyy is rising above Donald Trump's childish bullying to serve his people.

Zelenskyy isn't interested in following Trump down into the gutter. He's interested in securing a lasting peace for his innocent embattled country, a task made all the more difficult by Trump's kowtowing to Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy is also correct that these conversations should take place behind closed doors instead of being exploited to create a media circus. Trump and Vance ambushed him in the Oval Office in front of reporters because they knew that it would make headlines and entertain their base.

They are not serious leaders. Zelenskyy is.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you are deeply impressed by President Zelenskyy — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new pro-democracy social network that is exploding in popularity because Twitter and Facebook are trying to stop its growth — which is only making Tribel grow even faster. Please follow us on Tribel to get all of our breaking news alerts sent straight to your phone or computer by clicking the following link: https://t.co/HnJzSKj4Hp

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@HARLANCOUNTYY Decade is an understatement. Ukrainians won’t ever forget nor forgive. Their grandchildren will grow hearing stories about what happened now

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@ukrainiansquad Finland! You are not alone, dear Ukrainians 🇺🇦🫶🇫🇮

[Chris Rilling @tokitaeII]

After Trump lectured Zelensky about not being grateful enough for U.S. aid, Trump got on a plane to go play golf at Mar-a-Lago. Zelensky is heading back to a war zone.

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@McFaul Both Musk and Russians have financed Trump. Who pays the piper calls the tune - that’s probably how simple it is

[Elina Valtonen @elinavaltonen]

Finland stands with the people and the people’s right to choose. In Ukraine, people have chosen freedom.

We stand by Ukraine. 🇫🇮🇺🇦

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@IAPonomarenko You are not alone, dear Illia! You can be proud of President Zelenskyy for standing up to two thugs today.

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@Gerashchenko_en You’re not alone, dear Anton - Europe will be on your side until Ukraine wins. You can be proud of President Zelenskyy for standing up these two thugs, Trump and Vance

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@P_Kallioniemi Fuck Trump

[Tuomas @Tuoman17]

@AVindman Who pays the piper calls the tune

[Elina Valtonen @elinavaltonen]

We Finns know Russia. Finland, a neighbouring country to Russia, consistently remained an independent democracy through the Second World War and the Cold War.

Take it from us: Putin has no intention to stop his expansionist pursuit. He will enter talks, enjoy the limelight, and take whatever he possibly can without making any genuine concessions.

Russia must be kept at bay and within its own borders with credible economic and military pressure. That is what ’peace through strength’ is all about.

Ukraine and Europe deserve to live in peace. There is no panacea. An isolated quick fix leads to more trouble down the line - also to the US.

So far Russia has shown no interest in peace. Ahead of any talks, Russia could signal goodwill by, for instance, returning forcibly relocated Ukrainian children back to their parents. 

Lasting peace needs a comprehensive plan for the years to come. A negotiated settlement should encompass a process, ensuring Ukraine’s and Europe’s security, including containment of the multi-domain threat Russia is posing.

This process could also manage a gradual and conditional easing of sanctions pressure. It can’t be a one-off deal.

This is the time for Europe. Europe is stepping up: committing even more to security and further increasing defence spending. And no matter what, Europe will be at the tables deciding about Europe. It’s our people, our values, our future.

But defending the free world takes the US, too. This space is closely being watched also in the Indo-Pacific. A secure and stable Europe is in America's interest and going forward, the US will need strong allies.