Yesterday at 19:59
Russia remains the main threat to Finland’s national security. The country continues to be a target for espionage and hybrid attacks by Russian intelligence services. Experts from the country’s Security and Intelligence Service came to this conclusion. Moscow is reacting in this way to Finland’s accession to NATO. At the same time, the Pentagon assured its allies that the United States is ready to defend NATO territory, FREEDOM reports.
Finland, which has a 1,340 km border with Russia, closed all border crossings with the Russian Federation in November 2023. The goal is to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, which Finnish intelligence services consider as a hybrid attack from Moscow. The Finnish-Russian border is closed until at least April 14, 2024. According to the latest report from the Finnish Security Police, the threat at the border remains long-term. As well as cyber attacks by Russian intelligence services, the report says. At the same time, the Finnish department is confident that the country’s accession to NATO has had a positive impact on the situation.
“NATO membership protects Finland from harsh measures. Russia has already shown its dissatisfaction with Finland’s changed foreign and security policies, for example by changing the way border guards operate on the eastern border. For Russia, forced emigration is a way to demonstrate unfriendly behavior. This is long term. After all, for Russia this is an easy way to keep Finland on its toes. The threat of Russian intelligence and influence remains elevated,” said acting. O. Teem Turunen, head of the Finnish Security Police SUPO.
According to analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia is thoroughly preparing for a large-scale armed conflict with NATO. This is evidenced by its financial, economic and military indicators. Polish President Andrzej Duda also emphasized that Vladimir Putin is intensifying efforts to transfer the Russian economy to a military footing in order to be able to attack NATO as early as 2026 or 2027.
“I think that Putin, if he had not planned aggression against Western countries, he certainly would not have created and recreated the Leningrad and Moscow military districts. Obviously, in Soviet times, these districts were intended to wage an aggressive war in the direction of the northern or northeastern part of the European continent,” noted military expert Vladislav Seleznev.
The security of NATO’s eastern flank and support for Ukraine from Russian aggression are among the main topics of negotiations between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the foreign ministers of the Baltic countries in Washington. Ukraine and other countries of the world deserve the right to independently determine their future, the US State Department emphasized.
“These three allies are leaders within NATO, making significant contributions to their defense budgets. They are also leaders in supporting Ukraine. All three countries, as well as the United States, recognize the stakes we place when it comes to helping Ukraine. We have a lot of work to do together, both in terms of supporting Ukraine and planning for the future of the Alliance,” Blinken said.
“We are deeply united in our core values – freedom, democracy, the rule of law. And we see our core values being directly challenged around the world. In our region, this is Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, which has been going on for three years now. We must work together with NATO countries to resist this. And not only to say that it is bad, but also to make sure that evil does not have a chance to spread. Containment, a long-term strategy towards aggressive Russia – this is what we should strive for,” added Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.
The Pentagon assured that the United States is ready to adhere to its obligations within NATO. In particular, to protect allied countries in the event of a threat of attack by the Russian Federation.
“I can tell you that the administration has said repeatedly: We will defend every inch of NATO territory. If a NATO ally is attacked, we, of course, would not want to see that, but we will defend every inch of the Alliance’s territory,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh assured.
The priority for the United States remains to provide Ukraine with the necessary means of combating Russian aggression, the press service of the US Department of Defense emphasized. As stated by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson, congressmen will soon begin discussing an aid package for Ukraine and other allies. As a number of American publications write, this will probably happen no earlier than April 8, when legislators return to work after the spring break.
