Finnish Ambassador: Heres the right way to poke the Russian bear
b'The war in Ukraine is just over one year old. There is widespread talk of a major spring offensive from both sides. War in Europe, once unthinkable, is now the new normal. But for one nation on Russia\\u2019s northern border, this feels like deja vu.\\n\\nLike Ukraine, Finland knows what it\\u2019s like to share a long border with Russia. The Finns have had Vladimir Putin as a neighbor, and they\\u2019ve been performing the same delicate dance of decoupling under his very watchful eye.\\n\\nBefore his posting to Washington, Mikko Hautala was Finland\\u2019s ambassador to Russia, where he met Vladimir Putin more times than he can count. Hautala occupied his post in Moscow during the critical years following Putin\\u2019s first invasion of Ukraine. \\n\\nSince the war began, he\\u2019s become well known as the person to talk to to understand Putin, Russia and the conflict in Ukraine. \\n\\nOn this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host Ryan Lizza talks with Hautala about what Americans don\\u2019t understand about the Russian leader, the implications of the growing alliance between China and Russia, Finland\\u2019s accession to NATO, and why he believes the West needs to massively ramp up its industrial capability if it wants Ukraine to survive.'