“It was a mistake to come here”: Son of Finnish politician regretted coming to Ukraine before death in combat

A 20-year-old Finnish volunteer fighter, Leo Åland, died in Ukraine after serving just over four months in the war.

After departing from Turku’s Kupittaa train station in early January 2025, the young man quickly expressed regret about his decision via WhatsApp messages.

Leo Åland decided to volunteer while completing his Finnish military service, motivated by “a desire to help and some kind of calling,” despite his family’s disapproval, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

“I’m alive but it was quite a wake-up call when I arrived here. It’s tough. I don’t plan to stay here long. It was a mistake to come here,” Leo wrote in a WhatsApp message on 26 January 2025.

His father, Jyrki Åland, who serves as the Southwest Finland district chairman for the Finns Party, has come forward to share his son’s story in hopes of dissuading others from making the same choice.

“It might feel noble to go fight against the Russians, but I don’t see any sense in young men going to fight old men’s battles,” Jyrki Åland said.

The situation was complicated by a binding six-month service contract with the Ukrainian armed forces that led to the confiscation of his passport and restrictions on phone usage. This contract proved difficult to break, despite the father’s efforts to contact Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs for assistance.

Consular Chief Jussi Tanner confirmed to Yle that Finnish authorities are aware of volunteers who have changed their minds during training but have been unable to leave Ukraine. The Ministry published guidelines about these binding contracts in early February 2025, but Leo had already departed by then. The guidelines state that the contract is private in nature and may be practically impossible to terminate.

“In Finland, we don’t accept that signing a document makes you essentially a prisoner of the situation, but the ministry has limited means to help. Depending on the case, we can do something,” said Consular Chief Jussi Tanner.

In a 2 February message, Leo wrote his father:

“I know this experience will help me grow as a person, but it’s mentally tough to be here and I’m trying my best to cope. Sometimes I just don’t know what I’m doing here.”

According to his father, Leo died somewhere in Eastern Ukraine from a drone attack on 13 April, though Ukrainian authorities have not officially confirmed this information. Fellow fighters reported that nothing remained of his body, classifying him as “missing in action” in military terms.

“This means that if the body cannot be identified, we won’t be able to bury him. At least not for a year,” Jyrki Åland said.

Leo Åland had been discharged from Finnish military service in December 2024 and had hoped to share his experiences of modern drone warfare with the Finnish Defence Forces, a wish his father now intends to fulfill on his behalf.