Finnish PM Petteri Orpo Issues Strong Warning About Russia

Helsinki — Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned on Saturday that Russia's sabotage activities against Finland and other European countries have increased and are being taken "very seriously".

Speaking on Yle's Ykkösaamu program, Orpo said the risk of Russian sabotage in Finland is now "obvious" and that intelligence services have also warned about this threat. He said Russia's goal is to destabilize European and Western societies — especially those that support Ukraine.

Orpo made clear that such pressure will not change Finland's position. "It works completely the opposite with us. We will support Ukraine even more if sabotage is directed at us," he said.

The warning comes after news last week that police are investigating suspected break-ins at the homes of Finnish members of parliament. Orpo has not ruled out foreign involvement in these incidents.

Despite the serious tone of his message, Orpo said ordinary citizens do not need to worry. "In the everyday life of an ordinary Finn, there is no need to be worried at all," he said.

Orpo Also Proposes Tourist Visa Ban for Russians

In the same interview, Orpo announced he will propose that European countries stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens. He plans to present this measure at the European Council meeting next week. "We fear that Russia will try to organize sabotage in Europe. Why then do we let [them in]?" Orpo said.

Retirement Age Debate

Orpo also addressed the debate about raising Finland's retirement age. The Ministry of Finance has proposed raising the lowest retirement age to 70. Orpo called this "unrealistic" and said the Finnish model — where the retirement age rises by three months until it reaches 65 — has been a good solution.

He promised that current pensioners' pensions and index adjustments will not be cut. To find the 2 billion euros needed from pension system changes, Orpo suggested removing unpaid periods such as study time and unemployment from pension calculations, which he said would strengthen the system by 1.5 billion euros in the long term.