In the middle of the wilderness, three large buildings have risen in an instant. They are used by the Russian Arctic Brigade.
The place is the Alakurti garrison, which is located only 50 kilometers from the Finnish border at the height of Salla.
The satellite images obtained by show that Russia has also built a new hall in the area of a large equipment warehouse in Petrozavodsk.
The changes have not been publicly announced before.
The construction projects are the first concrete sign that Russia has begun investing again in its military targets near Finland. Cross-border garrisons have not been developed for years.
Up until now, Russia has mainly used troops stationed near the Finnish border in its war of aggression in Ukraine. revealed in the summer of 2022 that an entire combat division had left Alakurt for the war.
You can see exactly what the new buildings in Alakurti and Petroskoi look like in the satellite images of this story.
The pair of pictures below show how Russia first built two new warehouses in Alakurtti. You will see the change when you slide the image.
has reviewed several satellite images of the base from this summer. They show that the buildings were erected from foundations to crest height in one day. The first hall went up on July 9 and the second on July 28.
The latest satellite image shows a third similar building. It was erected on August 11, that too in a day.
The fast pace of construction speaks of a new way of building. A strong plasticized fabric roof is strung over the light metal frame, a military expert specializing in Russia tells .
– This is the first time that this technology has reportedly been used in the northern region. Apparently, the material can withstand severe frost, he says Marko Eklund.
Major evp Eklund has worked in Finnish military intelligence and monitored the Russian armed forces for more than 20 years.
Russia has already used the same construction method in the 2010s, when it quickly established new garrisons on the Ukrainian border.
The picture below shows what the halls look like from the outside and inside at the Russian base near Ukraine.
Eklund estimates that Alakurt’s new halls are a little over a hundred meters long and about 25 meters wide, i.e. their surface area is about 2,500 square meters.
According to Eklund, one hangar can easily accommodate one battalion’s combat vehicles, which in this case means about 40 MT-LB armored personnel carriers.
Satellite images of Alakurt show rectangular light areas next to the new halls, which are probably the foundations of the buildings. However, they have been in place at least since 2017.
According to Eklund, it is a construction project that was once left unfinished, which is very common in Russia. Traditional warehouses have probably been planned for the area, which the new warehouse technology has made unnecessary.
– The new model is a significantly more affordable solution compared to a traditional hall consisting of sheet metal and concrete, Eklund estimates.
Russia has stationed around 2,000 soldiers at the Alakurt base, of which at least a third or even half have been sent to fight in Ukraine. The 80th Arctic Motorized Infantry Brigade operates in the garrison.
The brigade is trained to operate in the darkness and cold of the arctic region. It has armored personnel carriers at its disposal, but not, for example, battle tanks.
The new halls can only accommodate part of the base’s equipment, which is now mostly in the sky.
However, if it were decided to increase the forces in the region – as the Russian leadership has claimed to do because of Finland’s NATO membership – new halls would be created very quickly if necessary.
Alakurt’s soldiers have suffered losses in Ukraine. In June, Ukraine struck to the brigade command post near the front, but the damage caused by the attack has not been detailed.
In Petroskoye, the hall rose in the middle of the armor
also found another large construction site at the depot in Petroskoi in the satellite images.
It is Russia’s largest fleet concentration near the Finnish border.
In the series of pictures below, you can see how a large hall with a gable roof rose in the middle of the cannons and tanks stored in the depot at the beginning of July. It was probably made with the same technology as Alakurt’s new halls.
Originally, armored vehicles were stored in the square.
This picture shows the frame of the new hall. Eklund estimates its size to be about 50 by 25 meters, or about 1,250 square meters.
The hall could accommodate, for example, about 50 armored vehicles when closely driven.
However, the Petroskoi hall will probably be used for fleet maintenance.
According to Eklund’s assessment, the most important task of the equipment depot at the moment is to refurbish and deliver equipment to the war in Ukraine.
A lot of transport tanks, assault tanks and artillery are stored in Petroskoye. The depot’s equipment could equip at least one motorized brigade of 4,000 soldiers.
Most of the equipment is in the sky. Therefore, from the depot, you can see many other military targets more easily, what is happening there.
More than a hundred cannons from Petrozavodsk to the front
Petroskoi’s equipment is very old, so there are no guarantees of its condition. It is assembled from the mass divisions of the region, which were abolished in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since the war continues and Russia has lost a lot of newer equipment, Russia has had to use old equipment as well.
The satellite image below was taken on June 18 from the Petroskoi depot. According to Eklund, the picture shows how the Russians load cannons that move on rollers, i.e. tank howitzers, into train cars.
Eklund has calculated from satellite images that the number of artillery weapons at the Petroskoi depot has been continuously decreasing since the start of the war of aggression in Ukraine. Since spring 2022, a dozen batteries have been lost in the area, the majority this year.
Since there were 12–18 cannons in each of the stored batteries, well over a hundred cannons have already been taken to war from Petrozavodsk, Eklund calculates. Some of the cannons move on rollers and some are towed.
Most of the artillery taken to the war was taken from this area of the equipment depot.
Based on satellite images, has also monitored the situation of several other Russian military bases located near the Finnish border. They now show no significant permanent changes.
Expert: Just taunting Russia
Russia has repeatedly threatened to respond to Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership.
Last December, the Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said that Russia is planning to strengthen its armed forces near the Finnish border. He repeated the same thing again last month.
So far, there have been no signs of reinforcements.
Could the construction of the halls be about Russia gradually moving from intentions to actions?
Researcher, docent of military sciences Ilmari Käihkö does not take care of current affairs.
– Russia has nothing to put here on the eastern border. Rather, equipment from the eastern border will be used elsewhere, and Ukraine is the number one destination, Käihkö tells in a phone interview.
According to Käihkö, there is no way Russia has enough men and equipment to carry out Shoigu’s plans to strengthen the forces against Finland as long as the war in Ukraine continues as fiercely as it is now.
– Šoigu’s slander is slander, Käihkö acknowledges.
sent Käihkö satellite images of Russia’s new halls in Alakurt and Petroskoi.
In Käihkö’s opinion, it is likely that the halls will be used to refurbish equipment for the war in Ukraine, and they are not important from the point of view of Finland’s security.
– No immediate measures [Suomen] at least there is no need to do anything with this information, says Käihkö.
Käihkö also estimates that Finnish military intelligence is well informed about changes in Russian military sites located near the border.
The interviewee of the story, Marko Eklund, is currently working in ‘s news and current affairs department as a background reporter.
You can discuss the topic until Monday, September 11 at 11 p.m. The conversation requires a Tunus.