Society · first published 2022-02-25
Ukraine special | Sami Miettinen on Viisasteluklubi
Sami Miettinen, Tere Sammallahti and host Ivan Puopolo recorded on 25 February 2022, the day after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. A contemporaneous record rather than a retrospective: what the balance of forces looked like, why Russia advanced without air supremacy, whether SWIFT exclusion or targeted bank sanctions bite harder, and the Finnish NATO question at the moment it stopped being theoretical. The last third covers the information war, the Russian-speaking minority in Finland, a market crash as a buying opportunity, and Jokerit in the KHL.
Ukraine special | Sami Miettinen on Viisasteluklubi
Summary: Sami Miettinen, Tere Sammallahti and host Ivan Puopolo recorded on 25 February 2022, the day after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. A contemporaneous record rather than a retrospective: what the balance of forces looked like, why Russia advanced without air supremacy, whether SWIFT exclusion or targeted bank sanctions bite harder, and the Finnish NATO question at the moment it stopped being theoretical. The last third covers the information war, the Russian-speaking minority in Finland, a market crash as a buying opportunity, and Jokerit in the KHL.
Key Themes
- Why this week’s episode is a different kind of special: Discussed from 00:00 onward.
- Ukraine’s size and materiel; Belarus as the staging ground: Discussed from 03:00 onward.
- The airfield strike repelled; how long, and does it hurt Russians: Discussed from 06:00 onward.
- EU statements versus what Putin actually weighs; Nord Stream 2 halted: Discussed from 09:00 onward.
- SWIFT exclusion or targeted bank sanctions — why choose: Discussed from 12:00 onward.
- Finnish readiness, and a defence minister who would not answer: Discussed from 15:00 onward.
- NATO-compatible equipment, the budget and the border: Discussed from 18:00 onward.
- Putin’s shifting justifications: denazification or NATO enlargement: Discussed from 21:00 onward.
- Donbas: human-rights violations, and what “genocide” is made to mean: Discussed from 24:00 onward.
- Not self-restricting at the border; the parties and the NATO debate: Discussed from 27:00 onward.
- Case-by-case assessment and dropping the old positions: Discussed from 30:00 onward.
- Belarus has no options; Xi taking notes on how annexation goes: Discussed from 33:00 onward.
- Russia forces an Estonian operator to remove a page; VPNs and a leaky censor: Discussed from 36:00 onward.
- The Russian-speaking minority in Finland and misplaced anger: Discussed from 39:00 onward.
- Markets: a 40–50% drop, buying the dip and the bounce-back: Discussed from 42:00 onward.
- Does social media matter — parties and multinationals act on it: Discussed from 45:00 onward.
- Jokerit, the KHL and who owns the brand: Discussed from 48:00 onward.
- Should politicians block a hockey team; closing: Discussed from 51:00 onward.