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Russia strengthens military bases near Finland: muscular confrontation with NATO?

Satellite images reveal intense construction activity on the northern border: according to Nato, Moscow is preparing for a long phase of confrontation with the alliance, including in the Arctic

Russia has started an intensive military build-up near the border with Finland. This is revealed by new satellite images analysed by the New York Times and confirmed by Nato officials. Moscow is reportedly building new infrastructure, expanding existing military bases, and reactivating hitherto inactive installations in the northwest of the country, particularly in the Arctic Circle.

Images show rows of tents and warehouses for military equipment, the renovation of fighter aircraft shelters, and increasing activity at a hitherto abandoned helicopter base near Murmansk. All this suggests a long-term strategy that goes beyond the current conflict in Ukraine. Nato military authorities point out that unlike the massive troop build-up seen before the 2022 invasion, today Russian forces deployed along the border with Finland are limited, but the logistical structure under construction could support a rapid future increase.

Finland, which joined NATO two years ago, shares an approximately 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, the longest in the Alliance with Moscow. According to Finnish analysts, this front could become a new zone of military tension, not least because of its strategic location in the increasingly disputed Arctic. American and Finnish forces have already conducted Arctic war simulations in the region, hypothesising a direct confrontation with Russia.

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According to the Finnish services, should the most intense phase of the war in Ukraine come to an end, Moscow could move thousands of soldiers to the northern border. Experts predict an increase of up to three times more Russian forces in the area within five years. An expansion that would already be underway: Russian brigades are being transformed into divisions, with a consequent increase in personnel and means.

In detail, in Kamenka – less than 70 kilometres from Finland – over one hundred new tents have been identified. At Olenya, an Arctic air base less than 160 kilometres from the border, dozens of fighter jets were recently sighted. New buildings capable of housing military vehicles have appeared in Petrozavodsk and Alakurtti, while further movements have been recorded near the Estonian border.

Moscow considers the Arctic a strategic priority and, according to NATO sources, aims to secure control over routes and resources in the region. The move of Russian military assets northwards would also respond to the need to shelter them from Ukrainian drones, which have targeted numerous bases in central and southern Russia in recent months.

The new Russian military posture, according to the Atlantic Alliance, is not a momentary move, but an indication of a broader strategic reorganisation. An eventuality that Northern Europe is already taking into account.

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