RUSSIAN DENIAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 8 February 1944, Page 5

RUSSIAN DENIAL

NO ULTIMATUM TO FINLAND HELSINKI BOMBED BY RED AIR FORCE London, Feb. 7. j The Russian Tass news agency has been authorised to deny reports that the Soviet is negotiating with a view j to concluding a separate peace or that an ultimatum has been delivered to Finland, says Moscow radio. The “Daily Telegraph's” Stockholm correspondent says the Helsinki newspaper “Hufvudstads Bladet” said: “Finland would gladly accept peace guar- j anteeing liberty and independence, but j our adversary has not given the slight- 1 est indication that he is ready to con- j sider such an agreement. It is difficult. ] therefore, to see how the peace which j the Swedes urged upon us can become a reality.” Russian planes to-night bombed Helsinki. The correspondent of the Stockholm newspaper “Dagens Nyheter” said the raid was the heaviest since the sum- , mer of 1941. More than 100 planes drop- ! ped high explosives and incendiaries. ' Anti-aircraft defences were in action ' Cor almost two hours. It is officially reported that 15 to 30 were killed. A large part of Helsinki is burning. A message from Stockholm states that dock districts and the central railway station were hit in last night’s raids on Helsinki. The Stockholm newspaper “Svenska Dagbladet” says Helsinki was raided a second time at midnight on 6th February- The first raid lasted from 6 to 10 p.m. TOWN ENVELOPED IN SMOKE A Russian communique says a large ■'roup of Russian bombers mass raided TT elsinki last night and attacked military objectives as well as the rail junc- • 'on. port and central part of the town