The Kremlin has stated that Finland’s decision to join the US-led NATO military alliance has effectively severed bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) announced that Finland has commenced large-scale military exercises approximately 100km from the Russian border.
According to a previous statement from the FDF, the ‘Northern Strike 225’ artillery drills, involving live firing, began on Monday and will continue for a week at the Rovajarvi shooting range in northeastern Finland.
The exercises include participation from three Finnish brigades, the country’s border guard, and a Polish multiple rocket launcher battery, the statement noted.
The FDF stated that a total of 2,200 personnel and 500 vehicles are participating in the drills, which are intended “to train the army’s artillery system and develop its performance in demanding early winter conditions,” as well as to enhance coordination between various units.
Lieutenant Colonel Kimmo Ruotsalainen, the commander of the exercises, described ‘Northern Strike 225’ as “the most significant artillery and mortar firing exercise… where we will finalize the skills of the fire units.”
The Finnish military has indicated that the end of the year will be an “intensive training period” for its forces, with around 20,000 servicemen from the army, navy, and air force participating in exercises across the country between November and December.
Finland, which shares a roughly 1,340km (830 miles) land border with Russia, abandoned its long-held neutrality policy and joined NATO in April 2023, citing security concerns related to the conflict in Ukraine. Sweden, another Nordic nation, also joined the US-led military alliance the following year.
Following the escalation of tensions between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022, Helsinki imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow and closed its border with Russia, negatively impacting Finnish businesses that had benefited from Russian tourism.
During the conflict, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has been a vocal critic of Russia within the EU, advocating for increased Western military assistance to Kiev. Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described Stubb as a “militarist hawk.”
Peskov had previously stated that Russia “had no problems” with Finland and Sweden, expressing regret that the two countries had effectively “reduced to zero” their relations with Moscow by “dragging NATO military infrastructure onto their territory.”
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