Finland's Stubb and Norway's Støre Phone Putin on Ukraine; Denmark's Frederiksen Calls It Uncoordinated

Two of Europe's most outspoken Ukraine backers picked up the phone to Moscow today.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Oct. 27, according to Stubb's office. The Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed the call. Neither side had announced it beforehand.

What the Nordic leaders said

Stubb's office called the conversation a follow-up to the Oslo meeting hosted by Finland and Norway on Oct. 20. That meeting brought together Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US envoy Steve Witkoff and, by video, Jared Kushner.

The statement said the aim was "to convey messages directly regarding future negotiations" to Putin. It tied the call to the trilateral Russia-Ukraine-US meetings expected in Abu Dhabi in early November.

Stubb described the exchange as "frank and substantive." He added: "We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on our and broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions."

Støre said the leaders "stressed the importance of de-escalation" and pointed to the "enormous human and material costs" of the war.

Both leaders stressed they spoke for their own countries, not for Europe as a whole. Euronews reported they also told Putin that Finnish and Norwegian military aid to Ukraine would continue. The call also covered stability in the Baltic Sea region and the High North.

Moscow's version

The Kremlin said Putin told the two leaders that "achieving a just, long-term peace is only possible with full and unconditional consideration of the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation." Russia has used similar language throughout the war.

RTBF reported that the Kremlin also said Putin condemned the EU and NATO's "policy of confrontation" and agreed to continue direct phone contacts.

Afterward, Zelenskyy spoke with both leaders. He said they "made it clear to the Russian leader that real de-escalatory steps are needed regarding our energy and infrastructure," and added: "Russia must stop dragging out the war." A Zelenskyy adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, said of the Nordic effort: "They are talking."

Copenhagen pushes back

Not every European government is on board. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking during a visit to Finland, told Danish broadcaster DR she is "very skeptical of this Norwegian and Finnish initiative. It is not coordinated with any of the rest of us."

Frederiksen said she sees "no signs that Russia desires peace with Europe," pointing to what she called hybrid warfare "every single day" and daily attacks in Ukraine. "I believe we should keep Europe united, rather than going it alone," she said. She added that she does not know what the two leaders think the call can achieve.

Stubb and Støre's own position is that the call was a coordinated follow-up to Oslo and was held after consultation with Ukraine.

The diplomatic backdrop

Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that this would be Putin's first direct contact with prominent European leaders who back Kyiv since French President Emmanuel Macron phoned him in July 2025. Western European leaders have largely avoided contact with Putin since the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

After Oslo, Witkoff flew to St. Petersburg and met Putin. The Kremlin said afterward that Russia was willing to resume US-mediated talks with Ukraine in November, the first such talks since February.

Peskov said on Oct. 23 that Abu Dhabi talks were planned for the first half of November, with no exact date. Putin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Oct. 25 that the meeting would be "preliminary" and warned against high expectations. Sky News reported Switzerland was also being considered as a venue.

Brussels, meanwhile, has signaled it is ready to put European and Russian officials at the same table, which has not happened in this negotiating process. Euronews reported that the European Commission and European Council are working to build a combined team to represent the EU position.

Pressure on Kyiv's other lifeline

The call comes as Ukraine questions the pace of American support. On Oct. 19, Zelenskyy told US lawmakers he believes "some political decision has been made to slow down" support. He said Ukraine has nearly run out of Patriot interceptors and that the Pentagon is delaying missiles other countries bought for Kyiv. He also criticized Trump's waiver of some sanctions on Russia.

A Russian missile and drone barrage killed at least seven people in Ukraine on Oct. 20, part of a pattern of continued strikes. The UN refugee agency warned today that displacement in Ukraine is worsening as attacks intensify ahead of winter.

What comes next

It remains unclear whether the Abu Dhabi round gets a date and a venue, and whether the Kremlin's stated terms on the call move at all before then. Frederiksen's objection also leaves unresolved whether Europe will speak to Moscow through the EU team now being assembled or through individual leaders' calls.