An ISW report at the beginning of the month already stated that Russia was developing military infrastructure near the Finnish border, “probably as part of a broader military expansion effort to prepare Russian forces for a possible future conflict with NATO”
Russia is strengthening its strategic capabilities in the Arctic and building new military installations along the border with Finland, “just like during the Cold War”, said Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen, released this Monday.
“Russia concentrates most of its greatest strategic capabilities – nuclear, submarines and long-range bombers – in the Kola Peninsula region,” he declared, adding that the Russians “are building new military installations along our border, just like during the Cold War.”
From his perspective, “it would be wise to monitor the Arctic and develop deterrence capabilities in that region”. Antti Hakkanen also considered that discussions on European nuclear deterrence are welcome, but, for now, they cannot replace NATO.
For the Finnish leader, the United States “remains firmly committed to NATO’s fundamental guarantee provided for in Article 5”, relating to collective defense, maintaining that, “in the short term, this is the only option for Europe” to fully ensure deterrence. “In the long term, it would be better for Europeans to have strong capabilities of their own. But in the short and medium term, we need the US. It is crucial for European security,” he said.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen. AP
At the beginning of the month, (ISW) indicated that Russia would be developing military infrastructure near the Finnish border, “probably as part of a broader military expansion effort to prepare Russian forces for a possible future conflict with NATO”.
The report highlights that Finnish public broadcaster Yle “published satellite images, between June 2024 and October 2025, that show Russian construction at the Rybka military base in Petrozavodsk, in the Republic of Karelia, about 175 kilometers from the border with Finland.” According to this broadcaster, the Soviet-era garrison area “has been mostly abandoned since the early 2000s, but will now be used by the 44th Army Corps of the Leningrad Military District.”
The ISW also recalled that Russia restructured the Western Military District in 2024, dividing it between the Leningrad Military District and the Moscow Military District, “probably to improve strategic command along its northern border and position itself vis-à-vis NATO near the border with Finland”.
Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin, have threatened Finland in the past, using language that mirrors the justifications used by Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Dmitry Medvedev also accused Finland of dismantling Russian-Finnish relations, saying that Helsinki “eliminated” the positive relations that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The vice-president of the Security Council of the Russian Federation claimed that Finland had forgotten how the Soviet Union “crushed” the country when it was an ally of the Nazis and warned that the conflicts of the 20th century were not “favorable” to Finland.
