Both President Sauli Niinistö and Foreign MInister Elina Valtonen (NCP) commented on the developing situation.
Finnish leaders said on Friday they were closely following developments in Russia after the leader of a mercenary group launched a rebellion.
“The situation in Russia is unclear and there is a lot of unconfirmed information,” President Sauli Niinistö told STT. “This is an internal Russian matter, which is being followed closely in Finland and elsewhere.”
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) tweeted that he was also following events closely, that there was a lot of unconfirmed information, and that there were deep disagreements within the Russian military.
Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) said that she was also following events closely, remarking that recent events were a culmination of a long-running power struggle.
On Friday evening Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads the Wagner private military company, said Russia’s stated reasons for its assault on Ukraine were false and vowed to remove the Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov.
He declared he was launching a ”march for justice” and posted videos online suggesting he had taken control of Rostov on Don, the command centre for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
On Saturday morning President Vladimir Putin gave a speech saying Prigozhin’s actions amount to treason.
Source: Yle News
