Russia is building up its military forces near the border with Finland, and it’s causing serious concern around the world. New satellite images have revealed a noticeable increase in Russian military activity along Finland’s eastern edge, which is making many fear that tensions between Russia and NATO could get worse.
This follows Finland and Sweden’s decisions to officially join NATO in 2023 and 2024. Russia had warned that if NATO expanded toward its borders, it would respond with strong military actions — and now it seems to be following through on that threat.
The images, which were shared by Swedish broadcaster SVT and taken by Planet Labs satellites, show large numbers of troops and new military buildings in places like Kamenka, Petrozavodsk, Severomorsk-2, and Olenya in northwestern Russia. This kind of activity is very similar to what happened on the Ukrainian border back in late 2021 — just before Russia invaded Ukraine.
One area in particular, Kamenka, which is only about 35 miles away from Finland, now has more than 130 military tents set up. These tents can hold around 2,000 soldiers. This setup has been growing since February, according to reports from MailOnline.
Back in April 2023, after Finland joined NATO, Russia had warned that it would take what it called “military-technical measures” in response. Now, Finland’s Deputy Chief of Defence, Lieutenant Vesa Virtanen, believes that Russia is trying to see how united NATO really is. He said in an interview with a German newspaper that Russia has already been challenging NATO by causing problems like cyberattacks, GPS interference, spreading false information, and pushing migrants across borders. He also mentioned that before the war in Ukraine, Russia had about 20,000 soldiers in the area and four standby brigades. But now, Russia is building even more military structures and preparing to send in more troops, so it looks like their presence near Finland will grow even bigger.
The satellite images also show that three new large buildings have been added in Petrozavodsk, which may be used for storing tanks or other armored vehicles. In Severomorsk-2, an old airbase that had been shut down for years is now active again. Another airbase in Olenya, which is around 90 miles from Finland, is also back in use and is believed to be a base for Russian bombers that are attacking Ukraine.
In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin has created a new military zone called the “Leningrad Military District” close to Finland and has already sent more troops there since Finland joined NATO.
The concern is that if Russia takes any aggressive military action against Finland or Sweden, both of which are now part of NATO, it could trigger a response from the entire alliance. That would mean many countries could be pulled into a serious global conflict.
To make matters even more tense, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev recently warned that now that Finland and Sweden have joined NATO, they should no longer expect the protection or advantages they had when they were neutral. He said that because they joined what Russia sees as a hostile group, they are now considered targets for Russian forces. That could include retaliatory strikes and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons, according to Russia’s military policy.
