NATO'S nuclear deterrent must be real for Finland, the country's president Alexander Stubb said on Friday as he took office following his win in a close-fought election on Feb. 11.

During his campaign ahead of the vote, Stubb said he saw no limits for Finland's participation in NATO and would be ready to let nuclear weapons be transported through Finland - though not stored there - as the country abandoned decades of military non-alignment.

Inauguration of the President of Finland.

When asked about his views on nuclear weapons at his first news conference as president, Stubb said it would be for the Finnish government and parliament to decide if Finland wants to alter its current legislation that bans nuclear weapons on Finnish soil, including their transfer.

"I would start from the premise that we in Finland must have a real nuclear deterrent, and that's what we have, because NATO practically gives us three deterrences through our membership," Stubb told reporters.

"The first is military, i.e. soldiers, the second is missiles, i.e. ammunition, and the third is a nuclear deterrent, which comes from the United States," he added.

At his official inauguration in parliament, Stubb said he stood ready to oversee a new era after Finland joined NATO in response to neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We are now facing a new era. As a result of our military alignment and NATO membership, we have taken the final step into the Western community of values, where our republic has spiritually belonged throughout its independence," Stubb said in his address to parliament during the inauguration.

Stubb listed democracy, rule of law and human rights as the core values that Finland's foreign policy would be based on under his leadership.

Stubb replaces outgoing president Sauli Niinisto, who steps down after two six-year terms in which he earned the nickname "the Putin Whisperer" for his previous close ties with the Russian leader.

A day before Stubb's inauguration, Putin said Russia must boost the troops it has deployed along its western borders with the European Union in response to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.

Stubb condemned the recent death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose funeral took place in Moscow the same day, and called for Russian leadership to take responsibility for his "political murder".

"Navalny's death is a kind of symbol of the state Russia is in at the moment. Human life does not seem to have any kind of significance to the current Russian leadership," Stubb said.

Finnish Defense Minister: Ukraine can use Finnish-provided weapons to strike Russia

Ukraine can use Finnish-provided weapons to strike Russian territory, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen told the Finnish Broadcasting Company on Feb. 29.

Finland has not imposed restrictions on its military aid to Ukraine, Hakkanen added.

Finland approved its 22nd defense aid package to Ukraine worth around 190 million euros ($205 million) in February. As with its previous aid packages, Helsinki did not disclose what it had included in the packages or when it was delivered due to security reasons.

Hakkanen said restrictions have primarily been set by countries that have supplied Ukraine with long-range weapons systems.

"Ukraine should also strike military targets on the Russian side, if necessary. Otherwise, these military objects will strike on the Ukrainian side. This is an absolutely legal defensive struggle, which Ukraine is waging. The UN Charter allows attacking military targets across land borders," Jukka Kopra, a member of Finland's parliament, said.

"At the moment, the big countries that, among other things, have provided long-range missile systems, of course, also have the right to specify how they should be used," Hakkanen said, adding that Finland is in constant discussions with allied countries about restrictions on military aid to Ukraine.

Hakkanen also urged allied countries to provide Ukraine with more long-range missiles, including German Taurus systems.

"I urge Germany to seriously think about it. The German government knows that they would be of enormous importance. If they want to help Ukraine win, they could provide them," he said.

Finland has already provided 1.8 billion euros ($ 1.95 billion) in military aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Finland also decided to participate in the artillery and demining collations, one of many allied initiatives launched under the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to support individual sectors of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

Putin threatens NATO, says nuclear weapons use possible

There will be "tragic consequences" if NATO troops are sent to Ukraine, and the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons," Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed during a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Feb. 26 that sending Western troops to Ukraine can not be "ruled out" in the future. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of other European NATO member states have said they are not considering deploying their troops to Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in response to Western support for Ukraine but the threats have so far failed to materialize. Russia continues to wage an all-out war in Ukraine without utilizing its nuclear arsenal.

Russia remembers "the fate of those who once sent their contingents to our country," Putin threatened. "Now the consequences for possible interveners will be much more tragic."

The West's support for Ukraine "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons, which means the destruction of all of civilization," Putin alleged.

Putin claimed that Russia's strategic nuclear forces are currently in a state of full readiness, and Russia is doing everything to "end the war" and "eradicate Nazism."

Europe's concerns that Russia may use its military force beyond Ukraine and attack a NATO country are "nonsense," Putin said.

During the same speech, he claimed that Russia needed to strengthen its military in the west of Russia due to the accession of Finland, and soon Sweden, to NATO.

Following Finland's accession to NATO in 2023, Russia replaced the Western Joint Strategic Command with the Leningrad and Moscow Military Districts. Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service notes this was done to "bolster Russia's military posture towards Finland."