Putin accuses Finland of pushing US for nuclear icebreakers
The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed that Finland is attempting to persuade the USA to commission nuclear-powered icebreakers, although Finland lacks the capability to build them. President Alexander Stubb did not suggest building nuclear-powered icebreakers in Finland for the USA, as clarified by the Finnish president's office in response to Putin's statements.
The newspaper "Iltalehti" reported on Vladimir Putin's remarks about enticing Americans with the idea of constructing nuclear-powered icebreakers.
Can they build even one nuclear icebreaker in Finland? - Putin asked during a meeting with business representatives at the Kremlin, which took place earlier this week.
The Russian leader referred to Stubb's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, where both presidents participated in a golf tournament at the end of March. At the time, the Finnish president mentioned that orders for icebreakers (which Finland is keen on) were discussed, and the USA's interest in these specific vessels is due to the fact that Russia currently has 48 icebreakers, while the USA has none.
Finland, meanwhile, is the largest supplier of this type of ship, with Finnish shipyards having designed 80 percent and built around 60 percent of all icebreakers worldwide.
Russia is the only country that constructs and operates nuclear-powered icebreakers, mainly for navigation in the Arctic region.
American order's value estimated at 2.5 billion euros (2.8 billion dollars)
U.S. President Trump stated at the beginning of his term that the USA could purchase about forty icebreakers, and Finland hopes to gain a portion of these orders. According to "Helsingin Sanomat," the shipyard in Rauma (located on the southwest coast by the Bothnian Bay) is negotiating with the U.S. Coast Guard to build at least several medium-sized icebreakers. The order's value is approximately 2.5 billion euros (2.8 million dollars). However, these are not nuclear icebreakers, the newspaper emphasized, citing sources.
"HS" noted that in the late 1980s, a Finnish shipyard constructed the hulls of nuclear-powered icebreakers for the USSR, but the reactor and propulsion mechanisms were installed in then-Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg).
In 2024, the USA, Canada, and Finland signed the ICE Pact (Icebreaker Collaboration Effort) for the construction of icebreakers in response to the increasing "importance of the Arctic region for economic, national, and climate security," driven by heightened interest and activity in the polar region not only from Russia but also from China.
