Contents tagged with Finland

  • Russia withdraws weapons and troops from Finnish border for possible deployment to Ukraine

    While Finland and Sweden have started the the process of joining NATO, Russia has begun withdrawing heavy military equipment and personnel from the unit stationed near the Finnish border in the Murmansk region, reports the Russian news outlet Agenstvo.

    According to satellite images, which were reviewed by journalists of the Finnish news agency YLE, over the past month, more than 100 units of equipment, including dozens of armored personnel carriers, have been withdrawn from the Finnish border. …

  • Russia has stopped gas supplies to Finland

    Russia has stopped supplying gas to Finland. "Gas imports through the entry point at Imatra have been stopped," said Finnish gas pipelines operator Gasgrid. Finnish state-owned company Gasum also confirmed the fact that gas supplies from Russia had been suspended. "Natural gas supplies to Finland in accordance with the contract have been terminated," the company said in a statement.

    According to Gasum, the Russian gas holding Gazprom announced that it was going to stop supplying gas from 6 a.m. …

  • Putin: Russia has no problems with Finland and Sweden joining NATO

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has no problems with Finland and Sweden, and the accession of these countries to NATO does not pose a threat to Moscow.

    "But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory (Finland and Sweden) will certainly cause our response. What it will be, we will look at the threats that will be created for us, " said Putin at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

    He believes that the expansion of NATO is a …

  • Russia threatens Finland with military actions if it joins NATO

    If Finland decides to join NATO, Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

    "The goal of NATO, members of which have been assertively convincing the Finnish side that joining the alliance is the only alternative, is clear - to continue expanding to the borders of Russia, to create another flank for the military threat to our country. But why should Finland turn its territory into a line of military confrontation with the Russian Federation, while losing …

  • Finland's leaders call for NATO membership 'without delay', Kremlin sees move as threat to Russia

    Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would see Finland’s accession to NATO as a threat and that the move would not contribute to more stability and more security in the world.

    Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) land border with Russia.

    Speaking after Finland’s top leaders announced they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership, Peskov told reporters, "as we have said many times before, NATO expansion does not make the world more stable and secure."

    Peskov noted …

  • Russia threatens to take ‘military measures’ if Finland joins NATO

    The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Finland's membership in NATO will not strengthen the country's security. If Finland joins NATO, the Russian military will consider "all necessary measures", said the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko.

    Grushko did not specify what measures might be taken.

    "It is clear that from the security point of view, we will not remain indifferent. Our military will consider all necessary measures that will be required to ensure legitimate defense …

  • Kremlin: Russia will consider Finland and Sweden adversaries if they join NATO

    If Finland and Sweden join NATO, then Russia will have more "officially registered adversaries,“ said the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Telegram.

    According to him, if Sweden and Finland join NATO, the length of the land borders of the Alliance with the Russian Federation will more than double.

    Medvedev said that in the face of this threat Russia will have to seriously strengthen its ground and air defense forces, as well as deploy significant naval forces to …

  • Finland considers building barbed wire fence on the border with Russia

    The Finnish authorities are discussing a possibility of building a fence on the border with Russia. The length of this border stretch is more than a thousand kilometers.

    According to the newspaper Yle, the issue was brought up by the former Minister of the Interior and an MP from the opposition Coalition Party Kai Mykkänen who spoke in favor of building barriers on the eastern border to prevent migrants from entering the country.

    The politician pointed out that Poland, Lithuania, and Estonia …

  • Kremlin: Finland’s banks closing accounts of Russian companies

    Banks in Finland are refusing to open and are also closing the existing accounts of Russian businesses, said the trade mission of the Russian Federation to Finland.

    The problem arose in 2015 after a wave of Western sanctions in response to the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas, and since then has not been resolved.

    "Such cases are far from isolated, and this is of particular concern," said the head of the Russian trade mission Anton Loginov during a round table with Finnish …

  • Finland claims Russian warplanes violated its air space

    Two Russian Su-27 aircraft violated Finnish airspace, announced the press service of Finland’s Defense Ministry.

    According to Finland’s Defense Ministry, the fighter jets were in the country’s airspace for about 14 hours during a flight over the Gulf of Finland near Helsinki.

    The incident is being investigated by the Finnish Border Guard.

    RIA Novosti reports that the Russian Defense Ministry denied the Finnish Defense Ministry's statement. The Russian Defense Ministry noted that four Su-27 …