Russia is set to increase fortifications by its border with Finland amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the new NATO member.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, said Moscow was beefing up its infrastructure at the border in response to the Nordic country joining the military alliance in 2023.
Medvedev’s announcement follows the opening of a new NATO regional land forces command center in Finland near the frontier with its neighbor.
Newsweek has contacted the Finnish Foreign Ministry for comment.
Why It Matters
Since Finland joined NATO in 2023, spurred by Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine after decades of nonalignment, Helsinki has accused Moscow of hybrid warfare in the region, including GPS jamming, cyberattacks and stoking a migrant crisis.
Medvedev, a former president of Russia and an ally of incumbent President Vladimir Putin, has been known to make belligerent comments against the West, which have likely been approved by the Kremlin. His announcement suggests Russia may treat neighboring Finland as an adversary, meaning Moscow may be planning military exercises, airspace violations or border incidents that could provoke or intimidate.
What To Know
During a visit to a border crossing at Svetogorsk in Russia’s Leningrad region, Medvedev said on Friday that Russia must “increase the reliability of border protection” in response to Finland’s NATO membership.
He said construction was underway of “walls and other barriers” and warned that Moscow was prepared for potential “unfriendly acts” from Finland, whose accession to NATO had forced changes in Russia’s military approaches to the frontier, Russian state media reported.
Earlier this week, a new NATO regional land forces command center opened in Mikkeli, Finland, near the border with Russia.
These headquarters are set to host about 10 officers, eventually swelling to 50, and are expected to be under NATO’s Norfolk Command in the United States to coordinate allied land forces in northern Europe, including joint planning and exercises.
Finland has approved a NATO rail link through Sweden to Norway’s Arctic port of Narvik to allow faster troop and heavy equipment deployment and reduce dependence on Russian-gauge tracks.
What People Are Saying
Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said: “Walls and barriers are being built. We need to increase the reliability of the protection of the state border.”
He added: “We cannot ignore the fact that Finland is a member of the North Atlantic Alliance. And this predetermines a change in our military approaches to the border and repelling possible unfriendly acts.”
What Happens Next
Russia’s expansion of military infrastructure near the Finnish border will likely add to concerns that Moscow intends to support operations against Finland and the neighboring Baltic states, which have warned about potential attacks following the war in Ukraine.
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