NATO’s expansion eastward, TOWARD Russia’s border
Miranda Bryant – The Guardian May 21, 2025
Finland has said it expects Russia to further build up troops along their shared border when the war in Ukraine ends, after reports that Moscow had strengthened its military bases near the Nato frontier.
Maj Gen Sami Nurmi, the head of strategy of the Finnish defence forces, said the military is following Moscow’s manoeuvring “very closely” and that it was their job, as part of the Nato alliance, to “prepare for the worst”.
The Finnish border guard announced on Wednesday it had completed the first 35km (22 miles) of a planned 200km fence on its eastern border with Russia, which has been closed for more than a year after Helsinki accused Moscow of directing asylum seekers to Finland in a “hybrid operation”. The fence also uses cameras and sensors to distinguish between people and animals crossing
Satellite images, published in the New York Times, appear to show an expansion of military infrastructure near the Finnish border, including rows of tents, military vehicles, renovations to fighter jet shelters and construction on a previously unused helicopter base.
Nurmi said: “They are changing structures and we are seeing moderate preparations when it comes to building infrastructure close to our borders, meaning that they will, once the war in Ukraine hopefully ends, start to bring back the forces that have been fighting in Ukraine, especially land forces.”
While this was not unexpected since Finland joined Nato at record speed in 2023 after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Nurmi said they were following the preparations “very closely”.
“They are doing it in phases. I would say it is still moderate numbers. It’s not big construction, but in certain places building new infrastructure and preparing, bringing new equipment in,” he said.
“You also have to evaluate whether they are preparing to send more troops to Ukraine or preparing to build up their forces close to our border. But I guess they are doing both.”
Responding to Russia’s changing activities, Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday he was “not worried about it at all”, adding that Finland and Norway were “going to be very safe”.
Echoing the president’s sentiment, Nurmi said there was “no immediate military threat towards Finland or Nato from this direction”.
He added: “What happened right after the Ukrainian attack was we applied for Nato membership and then when we were accepted Russia announced they would start to change their military posture across the border.”
Finnish citizens have become accustomed to the looming threat from its eastern neighbour but hundreds are still signing up for training courses to prepare for emergency situations.
The Finnish Women’s National Emergency Preparedness Association (known as Nasta) said interest in its training courses was still high since it first soared in 2022, with more than 800 women applying for its spring course and most courses filling up in three to four minutes.
But Suvi Aksela, Nasta’s communications and organisation manager, said the border buildup was not a big talking point in Helsinki. “It is not very alarming for us,” she said.
“We are used to hearing stuff from Russia, like all these threats, and we knew once we joined Nato they said they were going to build up presence on the border, and they probably will, just because it’s Russia.”
It’s possible Russia fears a NATO attack when Israel attacks Iran and draws in the US and it all kicks off. The west is broke and desperate and their economies are about to tank.
pah !
My concerns are closer to home, as Blockheads ‘expand’ in my home town.
both home grown & invaders,
The compatibles are definitely a minority now.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Human beings are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo stupid.
From the late c20th until 2023 the long border between Russia and Finland was lightly militarised with border guards, dogs and wire. Mines existed either side but more lethal weaponry was kept well back on both sides, by agreement. This can be verified by satellite history. The number of Russian tourists and property buyers increased and a great deal of money was made by this. Some shops in eastern Finland even had Cyrillic text not surprisingly. Mutual trade increased and Finland was able to buy its oil and natural gas freely and at advantageous cost.
A mutually peaceful and beneficial situation you might say ? Not in the vicious minds of the EU commissars who constitute all political parties in the country however. The outbreak of war in Ukraine galvanised these people and the media into 24/7 Russophobia , no other point of view was allowed, no NATO sceptic politician or commentator was given voice, anybody doubting the media was branded a tool of Putin. Sound familiar? The whole script and the country was annexed by NATO with the enthusiastic blessing of former President Sauli Niinistö who was about to retire. This person who as finance minister forced the country into the Euro currency without referendum and who collaborated in allowing the corrupt Greek elite to join the currency as well. Thus began the trials of the Greek people under EU and Merkel’s screws, conform or die! Again, Niinistö allowed no referendum on EU membership despite repeated assurances in the past. Because he knew that the people had not yet been conditioned enough to give the ‘right’ answer!. In this he was keenly assisted by the then PM Sanna Marin, poster girl of girl power, world’s youngest PM, product of single parent LGBT couple, allegedly. Marin took over suddenly just before COVID after the incumbent PM was removed over a minor issue. It just so happens this man Rinne had frequently expressed distrust in NATO membership in the past, how odd….. So the country took an express route to join the Suicide Club at the behest of these Globalist flunkeys. Former PM Sanna Marin resigned from parliament , got divorced and fled to London to go and work for Tony Blair in one of his think tanks for an undisclosed large sum. How patriotic! How committed to ‘freedom’ and ‘peace’ job done bitch, high tail out of it!
Now with NATO membership and the creation of American bases the border becomes a hot spot and watch this spot for future ‘incidents’ confrontations and fear mongering. Apparently, Russia should not be taking any notice of this development and if it does it is ‘proof’ of their threatening nature and the need for nukes in Finland, something the present president is enthralled by.
In fairness to the article which is nothing other than hysterical click-bait, one Finnish military commander wisely says , it is not unexpected now we are in NATO that the Russians will strengthen and militarise the border but so far no great changes have been seen. Exactly. The media however never ceases its shrieking about threats, spies, saboteurs, provocations. The whole scenario of The Winter War is re-run time and time again as if a Russian invasion was going to be hordes of Bolsheviks on skis being machine tuned to death. The Continuation War is less asked about interestingly enough when the country joined the Nazis on the first day of Barbarossa in June 1941 and Hitler actually visited the country in June 1942 to celebrate Marhall Mannerheim’s 75th birthday… What is not remembered by the Russophobic media- and WHO owns it? Right- is that on both occasions at the end of the Winter War in March 1940 and again in July 1944 the Finnish military had to order the politicians to ask for an armistice to end senseless and massive blood letting. The Red Army agreed, Finland lost some territory and had to pay severe reparations, but it remained independent and viable. Each time in its history when it has cosied up to big powers to ‘protect’ them from Russia they have been betrayed. In 1918 at the end of the Civil War ‘White’ forces so-called were actively assisted by Imperial German troops, these Whites wanted a German king of Finland but then realised Germany was not winning in the West and had to drop the idea of being a colony. Inter war years saw very undemocratic govts and more cosying up to Weimar and then the Nazis. Hitler signed his cynical deal with Stalin and this proved the country’s undoing, placing faith in Anglo- French help was also a disaster. Thus, neutrality became the sensible option and if the country had retained this it would be now in a much safer position economically, militarily and especially diplomatically- as an honest broker between Russia & Ukraine or in other areas of induced conflict.
But no, the political class like its forebears in 1918 want to be an EU colony and the EU is now NATO. There is even insane talk of altering the railway gauge, Finland uses wider gauge than EU as the Russians built the railways in Tsarist times. Such a huge cost project..but it will stop the Russians using the railways to ‘invade’ the country …it’s 1939 time again (only they didn’t then) When the country was a Duchy of Imperial Russia it had its own bank of Finland and currency Markka since 1863, no Rouble, its own tax gathering, own religion, Finnish & Swedish as national languages Russian not obligatory, own parliament, pensions, votes for women, no military service obligation for Finnish men- so Finns were not sent to Russian wars in Turkey, Japan and 1914 unless they wanted to. Rather contrasts with today where the EU/NATO decides all in its colony and the parliament rubber stamps it! As for the farcical claim of cyber warfare by Russia sending asylum seekers across the border in droves to destabilise the country. The reality was a few people on bicycles during depths of winter as Finland had dutifully closed all tourist traffic, postal services and train services to Petersburg . So the Russians said if you shut the border one way we can use EU law which says people arriving in the EU have asylum right (ask Frau Merkel) Prior to this Russia & Finland had quietly kept that tap closed. Meanwhile, the FAR RIGHT True Finns party in the govt now allows quota immigration to go on ceaselessly according to EU diktat, nice one.
It’s no longer Conform or Die but Conform and Die.
Only problem is both ‘sides’ (NATO/Russia-BRICS) are governed by the same global cabal of Zionist-Commie bankers/rabbis pretending to be ‘enemies’ to setup & choreograph Waste Whitey III to further decimate the white race & advance Jewish eschatology– which teaches that mongrel moshiach won’t arrive until Amalek (white man) is gone. Now you know.
The Jews & Commies governing NATO & Russia are placing the pieces on the chessboard for Waste Whitey III.
Not very smart the Finn’s elite to invite the aggressive NATO in their Country. The Russians are only scaring the cretins a little bit,nothing more. Auge um Auge
I saw the headline and thought “Uughh…wtf… who’s putting out this tripe?”
Scrolled down and – sure enough! – there it was: “The Guardian”..
just peddling its daily-dose of ‘puerile propaganda pablum’… the preferred “diet” of the fck’tard THICKBrit Chattering Class.. 🙄
Mili Tant much better than the article