There are dozens of armored personnel carriers. According to Russia expert Marko Eklund, the equipment taken from Alakurt is enough to arm the combat section of one battalion, i.e. around 800 soldiers.
Satellite images obtained by reveal that a large amount of Russian land force equipment has been lost from the Alakurti military base near the Finnish border.
The transfer of the fleet has not been publicly announced in Russia or Finland.
More than a hundred vehicles or equipment units have been taken away from Alakurt since mid-May, among which are dozens of armored personnel carriers. The number of vehicles corresponds to the equipment of the battalion’s combat section.
This means that at least a third or even almost half of its approximately 2,000 soldiers have left the base at the same time.
– It is very likely that they were sent by train to Ukraine, says a military expert Marko Eklund.
Major evp Eklund has followed the Russian armed forces for more than 20 years. He analyzed satellite images at ‘s request.
Pulling Alakurt’s brigade into the war in Ukraine is a sign that Russia is recruiting new troops to the front, says Eklund. However, Russia does not want to tell the home front openly about sending troops to war.
The Alakurt Brigade is the most significant Russian unit north of the Arctic Circle for Finland, because it is very close to the Finnish border and because the troops stationed there are specialized in fighting in arctic conditions.
The unit operating in Alakurt is called the 80th Arctic Motorized Infantry Brigade. Normally, a brigade consists of about 4,000 soldiers, but Alakurt’s brigade is half as small.
Alakurtti sent the first battle division to the war
Even then, there was no clear evidence that a significant number of soldiers had been sent from Alakurt to Ukraine. However, the news from the local newspaper reveals that Alakurt’s soldiers participated in the attack already in the early stages of the war.
Our country’s Alakurtti newspaper reported (you will switch to another service) at the beginning of April, that three soldiers of the reconnaissance company who left the Alakurt garrison died in the beginning of March in the Kharkiv area. At that time, Russia was fiercely trying to take over Ukraine’s second largest city, and Russian troops advanced near the suburbs of Kharkiv.
In the spring, however, based on satellite images and publicly available information, Alakurt’s brigade was the only ground force in the vicinity of Finland that had not yet sent an entire combat division to the war in Ukraine. At the same time, other units sent from Finland’s neighboring areas suffered heavy losses in Ukraine at the very beginning of the war.
Satellite images obtained by from commercial companies show that a significant change occurred after mid-May.
The photo pairs were taken on May 13 and 24. The equipment has decreased in the period between them in the three areas where the military vehicles of the Alakurt base are mainly stored.
The first picture shows the base’s largest equipment area, from which the most vehicles have been lost. You can compare images by sliding the vertical line between the images.
The picture above shows that a total of about a hundred vehicles and tanks have left the area. MT-LB armored personnel carriers are apparently stored in the lowest rows, of which 36 have been lost, according to Eklund.
Such transport armor is used by infantry soldiers. They are the body of the battle department. The combat section includes an infantry battalion with three companies. Each company has 100–120 soldiers.
Equipment has also been moved from another area in Alakurt, which is located east of the first equipment concentration:
The area pictured above is located north of the runway. The picture shows that in the middle of May, the rolling stock has disappeared from the area. However, the tracked trucks have been left in place because they are not as useful in Ukraine’s conditions, Eklund estimates.
Vehicles have also left from the third area. The rows have become thinner on the left side of the picture:
In addition to the transport tanks, the equipment taken from Alakurt probably includes 2S1 Gvozdika armored howitzers, but according to Eklund, they cannot be identified with certainty from the satellite images used by .
Alakurt’s brigade has had no battle tanks and no heavy artillery. According to Eklund, they may have been attached to a combat unit that left Alakurt from other bases en route to Ukraine. It is also possible that Alakurt’s force operates in Ukraine with a lighter composition than a normal combat unit.
The military exercise would not be held in May
In principle, it could be possible that Alakurti’s equipment would have been sent to military exercises.
and military expert Eklund have looked at satellite images of the Alakurt garrison’s own training area, where, however, the equipment lost from the three storage areas was not visible.
According to Eklund, training in May would also not fit into the normal annual rhythm of the Russian armed forces. In Russia, the new training period starts every six months, always in June and the beginning of December, which means that the training period that continued until spring has already ended.
– Final exercises and team evaluations are done in April. May is a maintenance and preparation month between training seasons, Eklund says.
According to Eklund, it is very unlikely that the troops would still be training somewhere in May-June. On the other hand, going to Ukraine in May would suit the troops perfectly.
– It is logical to train the group and send it only after the test exercises, says Eklund.
Russia is trying to recruit additional people to Alakurt
In this situation, the troops located in the neighboring areas of Finland also have to participate in the war. For example, from the brigade located in Kaukjärvi, or Kamenka, on Karelia sent a lot of soldiers (you transfer to another service) To Ukraine at the very beginning of the attack.
Now, lastly, also from Alakurt, a combat unit has most obviously been sent to Ukraine.
– It would be special if Alakurt’s brigade did not have the obligation to produce a combat unit for Ukraine like other ground forces, says Eklund.
At the same time, the Russian armed forces are trying to recruit more workers to Alakurt.
Under Midsummer, the labor authorities of the Murmansk region published for search (you move to another service) a total of 48 jobs in the Alakurt garrison. There are many types of tasks, from dog handlers to lawyers, but there would also be work for 21 riflemen.
Soldiers are promised to be paid 31,500 rubles, or about 550 euros per month. Alakurtti is said to be the location, and the announcement does not mention anything about a possible assignment to Ukraine.
The highest salary is offered to those applying for a front-line position and to specialist doctors, who are paid 700 euros per month.
Job advertisements may mention that new employees are needed to replace those who have moved away or that the base is going to be strengthened. It is also possible that conscription is used to compensate for losses in the war.
Russia is strengthening bases in the Arctic region
However, Russia can use Finland’s NATO membership as a reason to strengthen its forces in Alakurt, the Kola peninsula and elsewhere on the border with Finland.
The newest development program for the garrison towns in the northern region started in 2021, i.e. before Russia attacked Ukraine and before NATO membership was even seriously discussed in Finland.
– The list of areas to be developed includes, for example, the military areas of Alakurt and Petsamo, where the ground forces of the Northern Navy are stationed, Eklund says.
However, the command to Ukraine weakens the fighting ability of Alakurt’s brigade and other units located near Finland so much that it will take years for them to recover, according to Eklund.
Acquisition of satellite images: Mikko Pohja