Russia · 30 August, 2026 · 2 min read
Alexander Stubb Tells Germany Russia Makes No Sense To Attack NATO By 2029
Russia unlikely to attack NATO; making no sense to test alliance, says Stubb. Stubb cites intelligence and deterrent stronger than any other power.
5 outlets, one story, no spin found.
4 of 5 outlets skipped it: stubb adds nuclear weapons are not the option for escalation.
5outlets compared
Stubb Rejects NATO Attack
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb dismissed warnings that Russia could be prepared to attack NATO territory by 2029, telling Germany’s Bild newspaper that it would “make no sense” to test the resolve of the alliance.
““First of all, I have intelligence data. And secondly, we have a deterrent””
Stubb said he had “intelligence data” and argued NATO’s deterrence is stronger than that of any other military power, while characterizing heightened rhetoric as a Russian “information war” meant to spread fear across Europe.
He also said Russia’s operational capacity is constrained, arguing the Russian military is currently losing between 30,000 and 35,000 soldiers per month in Ukraine while successfully recruiting only about 27,000.
Stubb added that the only viable method of escalation remaining for Moscow is mass mobilization, which he assessed would carry immediate and severe domestic political consequences within Russia, and he urged NATO countries to continue to “prepare for the worst to prevent it.”
Nuclear Plant Power Loss
While Stubb argued Russia is unlikely to attack NATO, the UN’s nuclear watchdog said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been without off-site power for more than a week and is now relying on emergency diesel generators.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the plant needs power to keep its six non-operating reactors cool and has only a 10-day diesel supply on site, and agency director general Rafael Grossi said, “The availability of diesel fuel is of paramount importance whenever a nuclear power plant loses off-site power.”
The IAEA said Zaporizhzhia lost its regular power supply “following military activity on the northern side of the Dnipro River,” and it said it was trying to negotiate a local ceasefire to allow repairs to electrical lines.
In the same briefing, the UN watchdog reported that the plant had been supplied with diesel on Thursday and Friday from another off-site location, and the Guardian noted the plant was seized by the Russian army in March 2022 with its six reactors shut down since that year.
Escalation Limits and War Risks
Stubb told Bild that Russia will not use nuclear weapons against Ukraine or attack NATO, saying “It makes no sense for any power in the world to test the resolve of this alliance.”
“Russia will not use nuclear weapons against Ukraine or attack NATO”
He argued Russia’s only option for escalating its war is mobilization and said he believes mobilization would have domestic political repercussions in Russia, while also saying Russia is suffering too many losses to allow Moscow to open a second front against another European country.
In a separate thread of the same broader conflict, the Guardian’s briefing said Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation into why munitions were stored so close to homes after a deadly Russian attack on a warehouse storing “explosive objects” near Kyiv’s western suburbs, killing at least 37 people in Myla on Friday.
The briefing also said the attack damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people, and regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said a further 42 people, including four children, had been injured in the strike.