NATO’s expansion with Sweden and Finland as members is to be met with Russian reinforcements in the western Russian defense area. That message is now being drummed out, again, from the Kremlin.
– We had absolutely ideal relations with Finland. In my opinion, they would have profited more by staying neutral, says Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview on Russian state television.
The war in Ukraine
Here are the Russian forces fighting for Ukraine
Here, the ambulances from Gothenburg roll into wartime Ukraine
He says that joining NATO was a “totally pointless move”, especially in promoting the country’s national interests.
– We had no troops or weapons systems there – now we will have it.
Five bases at the border
Russia has five major bases on the border with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, bases that become important in the event of a possible conflict with NATO. In the north, the forces specialize in combat in arctic conditions, but satellite images reviewed by Finnish military analyst and journalist Emil Kastehelmi show that the bases have been largely emptied of soldiers and military equipment.
– Resources have been sent to Ukraine from all the bases, says Kastehelmi to SVT.
Heavy losses for the forces of the Western Military District
Kastehelmi has made a compilation in Finnish newspaper Iltalehti about what happened to the Russian troops during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Among others, the motorized brigade from Petsamo and Alakurtti’s 80th arctic brigade have suffered heavy losses and well-trained soldiers have been replaced with less qualified personnel. Kastehelmi makes the assessment that Russia, in the midst of an ongoing war, will not be able to replace losses and at the same time expand the bases against Finland.
– In Finland we are not worried, of course we have to observe changes, but empty threats from Putin will not come true, at least not in the short term, says Emil Kastehelmi.