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REPORT. The war in Ukraine prompted Finland to give up its neutrality to join NATO. The memory of 1939 against Russia remains vivid.
Laid. A Finnish soldier takes part in the Arrow 22 military maneuvers alongside American, British, Estonian and Latvian soldiers, in Niinisalo, Finland, May 4.
By Marc Nexon, Special Envoy to Finland
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IIt’s 9 p.m. They come in turn. They park their car against a still snow-covered embankment and take out a bag in their hands. They weave through the chains of a half-open gate and then reach a two-storey red brick industrial building. At the top of a spiral staircase, there are a dozen of them, grouped together in a room furnished with old armchairs. We speak little. We open our bag and black cases spread on the tables. A voice gives the signal. Everyone goes to the adjoining room. It is a shooting range equipped with eight cabins above which runs a large silver heating pipe. The men take their places, unlock their holsters and grab their pistols. The chargers are engaged and, soon, the shots are ringing, the casings…
ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO/AFP – HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/Getty Images via AFP – Marc Nexon (x2)
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