Finnish Chief of Staff Timo Kivinen stated that his country has been preparing for a possible Russian attack for decades and that they will defend themselves harshly in a possible attack by Russia.
Expressing that Finland has an important military ammunition, the Chief of General Staff of Finland stated that the high motivation of the Finns to fight is an important factor in addition to the possibilities they have militarily. “As the war in Ukraine is now proving, the most important line of defense is between one’s two ears,” said Kivinen.
Kivinen said that they developed Finland’s military defense for a conflict against the use of great firepower, armored forces and air forces, as Russia used in the war in Ukraine, adding, “Ukraine has been a tough bite for Russia and so will Finland.” he said.
FINLAND’S APPLICATION FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP
Reminding that Finland has applied to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Kivinen stated that if they join the organization, they can increase their countries’ early warning capacity thanks to NATO’s joint air control system.
Referring also to NATO’s collective defense clause, Kivinen said Finland would also benefit from the deterrence of being part of an alliance where an attack on one member is considered an attack on all its members. However, he stated that in the event of a possible attack on Finland, the main responsibility for the country’s defense would lie with Finland.
Finland, which has been following a policy of non-alignment militarily for decades, made an official application in May to become a NATO member together with Sweden, after Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24. The approval of all 30 members of the alliance is required for the admission of new members to NATO. However, Turkey is cold to the membership of these two countries on the grounds that they cannot distance themselves from the terrorist organizations PKK and DHKP-C.
MILITARY CAPACITY OF FINLAND
Having fought twice with its eastern neighbor, the Soviet Union, in the 1940s, Finland lost nearly 100,000 of its citizens and one-tenth of its land in these wars. Although neutral after the Second World War, Finland kept its military defenses strong. Finland, which has a population of 5.5 million, has 280 thousand soldiers and 870 thousand reserve soldiers for wartime. Military service is still compulsory in Finland.
Finland uses 2 percent of its gross domestic product for defense spending. This rate corresponds to more than the defense expenditures of many NATO countries. Finland, which has cruise missiles capable of traveling up to 370 kilometers in stock, has ordered four new warships and 64 F-35 fighter jets from the US defense company Lockheed Martin. Finland also plans to build a wall on the Russian border.
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