Finland Is On Track To Become One Of Russia’s Most Intractable Foes

It surrendered its sovereignty to the US at a tremendous economic cost and with no benefit to itself.

Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov gave an interview to TASS in mid-April where he detailed the new threats that Finland poses to Russia. In his assessment, “Today, the most serious challenge to our security is probably NATO’s extensive electronic and aerial reconnaissance operations from Finnish territory. NATO reconnaissance aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles have become regular flights along the border with Russia.” It’s also rapidly militarizing at an “accelerated pace”.

“New corvettes are being built at shipyards, equipped with the most advanced NATO weapons, including cruise missiles and torpedoes. A large-scale rearmament program for the ground forces has been launched, including the purchase of extended-range and ballistic missiles.” Moreover, “This year, the first of 64 F-35A multirole fighters purchased from the US will begin arriving. Incidentally, these fighters are capable of carrying nuclear weapons if desired.” Finland is also considering hosting nukes too.

On a related note, Kuznetsov said that “We must also remember the Defense Cooperation Agreement between Finland and the United States, signed in late 2023, which provides for the stationing of American troops and weapons at 15 Finnish military bases and facilities.” In addition, “Finland plans to deploy a NATO communications and information system unit in Riihimäki” next year, while later this year, “a multinational task force, the Forward Land Forces (FLF), will be stationed in Rovaniemi”.

According to him, “An atmosphere of war psychosis is deepening in the country. The population is being intimidated by the ‘Russian threat’, practically urging them to prepare for war with their eastern neighbor. Bomb shelters are being modernized; Finland already ranks among the highest, if not the highest, in Europe in terms of per capita capacity. A state program is being implemented to build additional shooting ranges for civilians throughout the country.”

In furtherance of this goal, “All media outlets are focused on justifying the current foreign policy stance of the ruling elites. The country continues to deliberately whip up war hysteria. All local propaganda resources are devoted to demonizing Russia, shaping our country as the main ‘enemy’.” Kuznetsov also described Finland’s border barrier as an “iron curtain” that wasn’t even in place “in the 1920s and 1930s on the eve of World War II.” This demonstrates the extent to which Finns are being pitted against Russia.

None of this is to their benefit, however, since Kuznetsov mentioned how “The severing of ties and the closing of the border with Russia have had a devastating impact not only on Finland’s eastern and northern regions. The current socioeconomic situation here can perhaps be compared to the crisis the country experienced in the 1990s.” Nevertheless, while some Finns realize how counterproductive this policy is, “Finland Remains Hellbent On Positioning Itself As A Frontline NATO State Against Russia”.

“Russia Is Taking The Finnish Front Of The New Cold War Very Seriously”, but even so, NATO-emanating threats from this direction continue to grow due to Trump 2.0 declining to abandon the US’ Biden-era policy of containing Russia. Finland had been a shadow member of NATO for decades, but upon formalizing its membership, this previously friendly country became Russia’s intractable foe after surrendering its sovereignty to the US at a tremendous economic cost and with no benefit to itself.