Russia is increasing its military presence on the border with Finland - NYT

According to the latest satellite images, Russian troops are strengthening bases and building military infrastructure near the Finnish border. This may indicate their strategy, which will be implemented after the war against Ukraine, writes UNN with reference to The New York Times.

Details

The images, confirmed by NATO representatives, show rows of new tents and warehouses where military equipment can be stored. Repairs to fighter shelters and constant construction activity at a mostly unused and overgrown helicopter base have also been recorded.

These steps appear to be early stages of a larger, longer-term expansion, and NATO officials say it is nothing like the build-up of troops along the border with Ukraine ahead of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

Currently, the aggressor state, busy with the war in Ukraine, has very few troops along the border, and the Finns insist that none of this is a major threat.

At least for now. But Finland is one of NATO's newest members. It joined the Alliance two years ago, and these steps undoubtedly reflect Moscow's own perception of the threat. This border, 1,335 kilometers long, is now NATO's longest line of contact with Russia.

Military analysts predict that this could become a hot spot, especially given that a significant part of it is located in the Arctic Circle, which is subject to disputes over ownership.

American and Finnish troops recently conducted complex Arctic military exercises in the region, during which hundreds of soldiers ran through the forests, and the Finns sped between the trees on skis. Russia was considered a likely enemy during these exercises.

Finnish defense officials predict that if the high-intensity phase of the war in Ukraine ends - one of the goals of the complex peace efforts unfolding in Turkey - Russia will redeploy thousands of troops to the Finnish border.

The Finns believe they have about five years before Russia can build up its forces to a threatening level. But they are confident that it will happen, and that the number of Russian troops facing them will triple.

We will be talking about a much larger number of troops

From Moscow's point of view, the Russians need to strengthen their defenses to protect themselves from NATO expansion, which has always been a sore point.

The Baltic countries were the first members of the former Soviet Union to join NATO, bringing large sections of Russia's border closer to NATO borders. The prospect of Ukraine, an even larger former Soviet republic, following suit was so threatening to Moscow that it became one of the causes of the most devastating land war in recent generations.

The Russian armed forces have undergone a significant expansion. After the war, the ground forces are likely to be larger than before 2022. Looking at the planned restructuring of military districts, it seems obvious that they will prioritize areas facing NATO

Addition

The Kremlin continues to try to exaggerate its own military power on the eve of a telephone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This is stated in the material of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Estonia is hosting the largest military exercise Hedgehog 25 with the participation of 16,000 soldiers from 10 NATO countries. Tallinn is building 600 bunkers and a military base on the border with Russia.