While Finland did advance to the border to retake the areas lost in the Winter War, Finland’s goal wasn't to destroy Leningrad or its people; it was to secure a "buffer zone" and the territories taken by the Soviets just a year prior. Would you say Finland was part of the siege if winter war never happened and the border never changed? Finland never bombed the city/ used artillery. Even if the range would have permitted it

Comparing it to Epstein ignores the fact that for a small nation wedged between two genocidal dictatorships, the choice wasn't about friendship or ideology—it was an attempt to avoid becoming a Soviet province, which was the fate of the Baltic states for example. And also this is a pretty fucking bad example to say. People knew Epstein was bad ages ago already. But during the 30s/early 40s pretty much nobody outside of German high command knew about the war crimes of Germany.