Russia wants to increase its military presence on the Finnish border

In response to Finland’s imminent entry into NATO, Russia says it wants to expand its own military presence near the northern European country. “We will strengthen our military capabilities in the west and northwest,” Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Monday, according to Russia’s Ria Novosti news agency.

“In the event that forces and weapons of other NATO members are stationed on the territory of Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure the military security of Russia,” Grushko added. Russia and Finland share a border about 1,300 kilometers long.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Monday that Finland will become the alliance’s 31st member on Tuesday. In the aftermath of Russia’s offensive against Ukraine, the country and neighboring Sweden had applied to join NATO. Sweden still faces a number of hurdles as both Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify accession.

In March, the Kremlin stressed that Russia did not pose a threat to the two Nordic countries, but at the same time Moscow saw NATO expansion as an “existential” threat to its security. The Kremlin justified the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February last year with, among other things, Kiev’s desire to join the Western Defense Alliance.

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