The Daily Populous Wednesday March 18th, 2026 evening edition
Authored by politico.eu and submitted by HydrolicKrane

The idea of bargaining with Trump was put to Stubb during a question-and-answer session at London’s Chatham House think tank on Tuesday. The Finnish leader seemed surprised — and impressed. “I think it's a really good idea,” he said, adding after a pause: “No, I think it's actually a really good idea.” Stubb said he’d consider it further and discuss options with his team.

Finland itself doesn't have any assets to contribute to securing the Strait of Hormuz, and it's still far from clear what role European forces could play there.

But the question of how to bolster Ukraine — and get Trump on board — is an urgent one for Europe.

Officials — including Stubb — fear the longer Trump’s war against Iran continues, the more it could constrain Ukraine’s fight against invading Russian forces. Soaring global energy prices — and Washington's decision to loosen sanctions on Russia’s oil industry — will significantly boost Vladimir Putin’s income from Russian fossil fuel sales.

At the same time, American forces are using hundreds of interceptor missiles to shoot down Iranian rockets and drones, leaving fewer available for Ukraine. Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities rely on air defenses for protection against an ongoing barrage of ballistic missiles from Russia.

And Trump has again recently pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree a deal with Putin, without clarifying what — if any — security guarantees America would provide to keep the peace.

box-o-locks on March 18th, 2026 at 09:48 UTC »

Don't trust Trump. He'd back out.

America are very clearly on Russia's side so they'll sell Europe (and anyone else) down the river before they help Ukraine.

ACompletelyLostCause on March 18th, 2026 at 09:38 UTC »

This seems like a public jab at Trump, or a way of deflecting the expected Trump tantrum when nobody turns up to put their ships where America isn't willing to. It also moves the narritive of 'NATO won't help the US' away from Trump to somewhere else.

Zizimz on March 18th, 2026 at 09:21 UTC »

And he thinks that Trump would actually honor this deal after European ships had started clearing the straight of Hormuz? Have the past 12 months tought him nothing?