Moscow diplomat threatens Helsinki
“Finland as our neighbor will be the first to suffer”
December 28, 2023, 8:32 a.m
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Finland and Russia share a 1,340 kilometer long land border. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Helsinki abandons its long-standing military neutrality and joins NATO. A Russian diplomat declares that “peace and quiet” is over.
Russia has again threatened the new NATO member Finland with a military conflict. Finland will be the first country to suffer from an escalation of tensions between Russia and NATO, Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov told the state news agency RIA. “They lived quietly and in peace until they suddenly found themselves between Russia and NATO as a member of this alliance,” said Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna. “But since they are our neighbors, if, God forbid, things escalate, they will be the first to suffer.”
A few days before Christmas, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a similar threat. “All previous disputes, including territorial ones, were settled in the 20th century,” Putin said in a television interview. “There haven’t been any problems before, but there will be now.” Russia will now build the Leningrad Military District around the metropolis of St. Petersburg in the northwest of the country and station military units. “What did you need that for?” he asked the address of the neighboring country.
Defense agreement with the USA
Finland and Russia share a 1,340 kilometer long land border. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, Helsinki gave up its long-standing military neutrality and applied for membership in NATO to protect itself from Russia – like Sweden. Most recently, Finland also signed a new defense agreement with the USA: It will grant the US military access to 15 Finnish bases.
On Wednesday, the Russian arms company Rostec announced that its most modern artillery systems would soon be stationed on the border with Finland and Norway. The tests of the new self-propelled howitzer Coalition-SV have been completed and mass production has already begun, Rostec boss Sergei Chemezov told the state news agency RIA. The first series production will be delivered by the end of 2023. “I think that they will soon be used there, because howitzers of this class are necessary to surpass Western artillery models in range.”
The Finnish government recently announced that it would close the eastern border with Russia again after briefly opening it. Interior Minister Mari Rantanen announced a few days before Christmas that it would be closed until January 14th. Helsinki accuses Moscow of deliberately smuggling migrants to its western neighbor in order to destabilize it.