The Finnish wall: the Russian Federation reacted to the militarization of the Nordic countries of Europe

A new military reality is emerging on NATO's northern border: Finland has completed the construction of a 200-kilometer fence on the border with Russia, allowed its allies to import and store nuclear weapons, and almost doubled its defense spending plans. An artillery battalion with South Korean K9 self-propelled guns has already been deployed in neighboring Norway near the border with the Murmansk Region, and 24 more units are expected to arrive by the end of 2028. At the same time, both countries are rebuilding long-term defense plans for the new NATO configuration. The chances of reducing tensions in the Baltic region are rapidly decreasing, the Russian Embassy in Helsinki told Izvestia. Is it still possible to return to the postulate "high latitudes — low tension", which is familiar for this region, in the Izvestia article.

Anti-Russian actions by Finland

Finland has completed the construction of a 200-kilometer fence on the border with Russia, spending €356 million on the project. The fence was erected in separate sections, mainly in the south-east of the country. It was there that about 1.3 thousand asylum seekers from the Middle East arrived without visas at the end of 2023. Helsinki accused Moscow of organizing this migration flow, calling Russia's actions "elements of a hybrid war." At the same time, the fence became only part of the large-scale anti-Russian measures taken by Helsinki.

— The chances of a possible return to the "high latitude — low tension" situation (the principle of maintaining peace and stability in the high latitudes of the Arctic. Thus, they continue to decrease rapidly due to the actions of Helsinki and its NATO allies,— the Russian Embassy in Helsinki told Izvestia.

The diplomatic mission noted that the Finnish authorities regularly declare that there is no direct military threat to the country. For example, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has repeatedly said that he sees no facts that would indicate Russia's intention to attack Europe.

— Helsinki, however, continues to position Russia as the main threat of a long-term nature. The relevant theses are actively used to justify the course towards the accelerated militarization of the country, the manifestations of which include the lifting of the legislative ban on the import of nuclear weapons, the build—up of the military presence of NATO countries here, as well as a progressive increase in national military spending," the diplomats added.

In June 2026, President Alexander Stubb approved amendments to the Atomic Energy Act and the Criminal Code. The new rules allow NATO allies to import, transport, and temporarily store nuclear weapons on Finnish territory for collective defense purposes. At the same time, Helsinki remains committed not to develop or manufacture such weapons on its own.

After joining NATO, Finland began to actively integrate its defense industry into the structures of the alliance. The bloc's advanced Swedish-led ground forces are deployed in the country, and a bilateral cooperation agreement has given the US military access to 15 Finnish facilities.

In the new reality, the previous spending on security is no longer enough. Helsinki expects to increase annual military spending from €7.7 billion to €14-15 billion by 2029 and maintain this level at least until 2036. As a result, Finland's defense budget will exceed the target of 3.5% of GDP.

"Of course, these steps, along with the openly hostile line pursued by the Northern European countries towards Russia, only contribute to the degradation of the security situation in the region," the Russian Embassy in Finland stressed.

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NATO military preparations on the northern flank

Norway is actively adopting the experience of neighboring Finland. Diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Oslo told Izvestia that the kingdom's leadership considers an attack by the Russian Federation unlikely, but still calls Moscow "the biggest security threat." According to representatives of the diplomatic mission, local politicians and special services intimidate the population with sweeping accusations of preparing sabotage and waging a hybrid war.

— Norway's desire to keep tensions low in high latitudes is a thing of the past. Now representatives of Oslo are actively exploiting the atmosphere of Russophobia and militarism cultivated by the European political class to justify large—scale military preparations by NATO on the northern flank, with the leading role of the extra—regional members of this aggressive bloc - Britain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and France," the embassy stressed.

By deploying facilities and weapons aimed at Russia, Oslo poses serious risks to its own territory, the diplomats added. According to representatives of the diplomatic mission, the Norwegian authorities are turning the northern regions into a springboard of the alliance for operations against the Russian Federation. Norway has already surpassed the mandatory NATO military spending target of 2% and is moving towards 3.5% of GDP. The Government of Prime Minister Jonas Garare has updated the long-term defense plan until 2036, increasing its funding by $11.8 billion. As a result, the total cost of this 12-year program has grown to $182.3 billion.

Oslo has deployed a new artillery battalion in the Finnmark province bordering the Murmansk region. The military armed the unit with South Korean K9 self-propelled guns. The polar Finnmark Brigade expects to receive 24 more such complexes by the end of 2028, and engineers plan to increase the range of projectiles to 120 km.

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How the Nordic countries sponsor Ukraine

The northern NATO countries are among the top 5 donors of Ukraine in terms of the share of expenditures from their own GDP, said Vadim Trukhachev, associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. Denmark ranks first in this ranking, Norway is second, Sweden is third, and Finland is fourth.

About 6 million people live in Denmark, 5.5 million in Norway and Finland, and 10.5 million in Sweden. When these small states allocate billions of euros to help Kiev, each of their citizens spends much more on arming Ukraine through taxes than a resident of Germany or France. To date, Oslo has allocated over €15 billion to Ukraine's needs, Copenhagen and Stockholm have allocated over €11.4 billion each, and Helsinki has allocated over €3.2 billion.

The Scandinavian countries and Finland take the most radical position against Russia, so Moscow needs to seriously assess local Russophobia, Vadim Trukhachev believes. According to the analyst, expectations that the situation can be rectified through close economic cooperation turned out to be overstated. Back in 2010, from 65 to 70% of Finns openly stated their negative attitude towards Russia, the expert recalled. The events of 2014 and the beginning of the CBO have only reinforced these trends.

There are several reasons for this behavior, added Andrei Kortunov, an expert at the Valdai Club. The Scandinavian countries and Finland have traditionally supported and lobbied for the interests of the Baltic states, as well as hoped to strengthen their own subjectivity. In addition, Helsinki and Oslo have taken seriously NATO's demand to increase security spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, the expert concluded.

Accelerated construction of border infrastructure and a sharp increase in the military budgets of Finland and Norway have finally consolidated the change of political course in Northern Europe. Helsinki and Oslo are systematically turning the region into the frontline of the confrontation with Moscow. By their actions, these countries are permanently fixing the new reality on the northern flank of NATO.