Until 2023, Finland chose to remain militarily non-aligned. But following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the neutral nation — which shares an 830-mile border with Russia — made the decision to join NATO.

And considering Moscow’s reported military build-up at various locations along its border with Finland, as shown by recent satellite images, that was a wise move. The Finnish authorities are unlikely to forget the Kremlin’s protestations that their 2022 military presence at the Ukrainian border was merely a routine exercise . . . one that is now in its fourth devastating year of all-out war. Nor can they ignore Moscow’s threats of repercussions when Finland joined NATO.

According to military expert Emil Kastehelmi of Finland-based Black Bird Group, which analyzes Russia’s forces near NATO’s eastern borders:

“We have now noticed some new organisational [sic] changes, such as new divisions which are beginning to appear near Finland’s borders. Russia continues to build, prepare and train in the vicinity of Finland’s and NATO’s eastern border.” [Anna Korkman, AFP, June 26, 2025.]

Last month, the Finnish Defense Forces said that “Russia is building more infrastructure to be able to bring in more troops after the war [in Ukraine] is over,” and that Helsinki was “closely monitoring and assessing Russia’s activities and intentions” together with its allies. [Id.]

Finland closed its border with Russia in December of 2023 until further notice, following the arrival of about 1,000 migrants without visas . . . a move that Helsinki attributed to Russia, but which Moscow denied. Now Finland is building a 200-km. (125-mile) border fence to prevent Russia from further “instrumentalising migrants” across the border. [Id.]

While hoping for the best, and trying not to panic at the prospect of a future Russian invasion, the people of Finland are understandably unnerved and are preparing for the worst . . . just in case.

*. *. *

And across the Gulf of Finland in Estonia — another NATO member bordering on Russia, which is already host to a rotating base for NATO jets tasked with protecting Baltic airspace — Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur has stated that his country is ready to accept nuclear-capable jets, if necessary.

“If some of them, regardless of their country of origin, have a dual-use capability to carry nuclear weapons it doesn’t affect our position on hosting F-35s in any way,” he told the Postimees news outlet on Thursday. [Andrew Osborn and Mark Trevelyan, Reuters, June 27, 2025.]

While most of the world recognizes this as a defensive strategy, Moscow, needless to say, does not. And never one to disappoint, our old friend Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s amiable spokesman, had this to say:

“Of course it would be an immediate danger.”

Calling Minister Pevkur’s statement “one of many ‘absurd thoughts’ voiced by politicians in the Baltic region,” he added:

“We have practically no relations with the Baltic republics because it is very difficult to make them worse.” [Id.]

My goodness, Dima, I do believe you made a Freudian slip there: You referred to Estonia as a “Baltic republic.” That is indeed what it was called when it was — unwillingly, I might remind you — one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union. But it is now, and has been since December 1991, a free and independent nation . . . as are the other former Baltic republics of Latvia and Lithuania. They no longer belong to Russia; they are not your “republics” any more.

But methinks you just implied that you and your boss wish it were otherwise.

“Oops!”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/29/25