Ex-Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin visits the site of the Bucha massacre in war-torn Ukraine after leaving politics to join the Tony Blair Institute
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has shared photos on Instagram from her visit to war-torn Ukraine this week – a trip reminiscent of her time in the top job.
Marin, 38, who resigned as leader of the Finnish Social Democrats last September to join the Tony Blair Institute, was in Bucha, the site of the massacre of about 500 Ukrainians at the start of the war in March 2022.
She was in town with the HALO Trust, which works to clear unexploded landmines worldwide. In Ukraine, about 19,000 explosive devices have been neutralized since the start of the war with Russia, according to Marin.
In the war-torn country, the former Finnish prime minister – who was just 34 when she took office in 2019 – also briefly returned to diplomacy when she met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
She said: ‘I have had the opportunity to participate in countless discussions about the state of the war, reconstruction and Ukraine’s European future.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin visited war-torn Ukraine this week to meet top ministers – and look at efforts to clear unexploded mines
‘It was also very interesting to visit a humanitarian demining site in Bucha, where an international organization HALO Trust works to make war-torn areas safe by clearing landmines and other explosives.’
Marin briefly dusted off her political hat, posed for photos with Mr. Shmyhal and sat down for lunch talks with the Finnish ambassador to Ukraine.
She said: “It was a great honor to meet Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna.
‘With more than two years of brutal war, the need for international attention is more important than ever.
“To win the war, Ukraine needs even more political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support. Sanctions must be enforced.”
Marin announced last September that she would step down as leader of the Finnish Social Democrats, instead working as a strategic councilor for the Tony Blair Institute.
Marin briefly dusted off her political hat, posed for photos with Mr. Shmyhal and sat down for lunch talks with the Finnish ambassador to Ukraine.
Marin, 38, who resigned as leader of the Finnish Social Democrats last September to join the Tony Blair Institute, was in Bucha, the site of the massacre of about 500 Ukrainians at the start of the war in March 2022
Marin announced last September that she would step down as leader of the Finnish Social Democrats, instead working as a strategic councilor for the Tony Blair Institute.
Marin may be missing from the thick of diplomacy after she was photographed on the ground in war-torn Ukraine this week
As Prime Minister of Finland, Marin was one of Europe’s youngest leaders and oversaw her country’s successful application to officially join NATO.
Marin announced her resignation from politics, telling Finnish broadcaster YLE that it was “time to move on.”
She said: “I am eager to step into a new role. I also believe that all of Finland can benefit from it. I believe I can serve those voters [in Finland] good and perhaps even better in the new assignment’.
But Marin may be missing from the center of diplomacy after she was photographed on the ground in war-torn Ukraine this week.
The 38-year-old said: ‘I had the privilege of visiting a demining site together with the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko.’
Marin announced her resignation from politics, telling Finnish broadcaster YLE it was ‘time to move on’
As Prime Minister of Finland, Marin was one of Europe’s youngest leaders and oversaw her country’s successful application to officially join NATO