"Worst case scenario": Escalation sought at Russia-Finland border

"Worst case scenario": Escalation sought at Russia-Finland border

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Finland is increasing its military activities on the border with Russia, while, after a large-scale exercise, there is also talk of the arrival of NATO troops. In Russia, they report what reaction may follow

According to official statements, Finland is negotiating with several NATO countries for the stationing of their troops, as for now it is the only member state of the alliance bordering Russia that does not have allied troops on a permanent basis

It is reported that a tank brigade will appear there in the near future. In addition, Helsinki is ready for large-scale international exercises in case of "border tensions".

"There should be enough troops to deal with crisis situations ," noted Finnish Defense Minister Andi Kaikkonen, adding that Finland has "objects and structures" that allow these forces to be stationed for a longer period of time. The minister did not specify which countries would send specific troops.

According to estimates there could be 4,000 to 5,000 Swedes and Norwegians stationed in the town of Mikkeli near the border.

However, between August 31 and September 6, exercises are to be held in several regions of the country with the participation of 3,200 men and approximately 500 units of military equipment.

Russia's foreign ministry sees this as a challenge, and Russian analysts describe the intended escalation as a "worst-case scenario".

"We see that the political leadership of the northern European country is in a state of deep and unprovoked Russophobia and is voluntarily sacrificing its own national interests by turning Finland's former good neighbor into an outpost of NATO's militaristic ambitions in the Baltic and Arctic ," said the deputy head of of the Information and Print Media Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Nastasin.

In response, Moscow will increase its own forces on the border.

Helsinki is already talking about deploying troops to the previously demilitarized Åland islands. Former intelligence officer Pekka Toveri believes this will facilitate the response and increase the safety of the island's residents. As an example, the Finnish "hawks" point to Sweden, which withdrew its troops from the island of Gotland in 2005 and redeployed them there in 2018.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia has foreseen and prepared for such a development. Moscow, according to military officials, has been working for a long time on the issue of strengthening its northwestern side!

Sooner or later, all Finnish military bases will belong to NATO and in the event of a global conflict between NATO and Russia, they will become a legitimate military target for Moscow.