Finland expects Russia to further build up troops along the common border after the end of the war in Ukraine and is preparing for the worst. This is reported by The Guardian newspaper.
The Finnish military is watching Moscow's maneuvers "very closely", their job as a NATO member is to "prepare for the worst," said Brigadier General of the Finnish Defense Forces Sami Nurmi.
The Finnish Border Guard Service announced on Wednesday that it had completed the construction of the first 35 km of the planned 200-kilometer fence on the eastern border with Russia. There are also cameras and sensors to distinguish between people and animals crossing the road. Meanwhile, satellite images published in the New York Times indicate the expansion of military infrastructure near the Finnish border, including rows of tents, military equipment, the repair of shelters for fighter jets and the construction of a previously unused helicopter base, the newspaper writes.
"They are changing structures, and we are seeing moderate preparations when it comes to building infrastructure near our borders, which means that as soon as the war is on Ukraine will end, they will begin to return the forces that fought on the Ukraine, especially the ground forces," says the general.
According to him, the Russian Armed Forces are acting in stages.
"They do it in stages. I would say that these are still moderate numbers. This is not a big construction, but in some places new infrastructure is being built and new equipment is being prepared," the military commander added.
He told how "difficult" the task in this regard is facing the Finnish military — "to assess whether they (the Russians) are preparing to send more troops to Ukraine, or are preparing to build up their forces near our border." The general believes that the Russians are "doing both."
However, Nurmi shares the opinion of US President Donald Trump, who said on Tuesday that he was "not worried about it at all," adding that Finland and Norway "will be completely safe."
According to the general, "there is no immediate military threat to Finland or NATO from this direction."
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