NewsWorldRussia warns it will respond to Finland's NATO membership

Russia warns it will respond to Finland’s NATO membership

Since Helsinki and Stockholm formally submitted their respective applications for NATO membership in May last year, Moscow has not stopped warning that a further eastward extension of the Western bloc will have serious consequences for the security of the European continent. When the process of joining the Finnish Alliance was completed, the Kremlin repeated once again that it will adopt response measures in the face of this new situation that directly affects its borders in a stretch that more than doubles the length of contact with the countries of the Alliance that existed to date.

“The Kremlin believes that this is a further aggravation of the situation. The expansion of NATO is an interference in our security and in the national interests of the Russian Federation (…) naturally, this will force us to apply countermeasures to guarantee our security, both tactical and strategic, “said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency yesterday , Dmitry Peskov.

Asked what specific type of responses can be expected from Russia, Peskov said that “those necessary” the time has come. In her words, “Russia will closely monitor how NATO is going to use the territory of Finland and what weapons and infrastructure it intends to deploy there. Accordingly, appropriate measures will be taken.” He also stressed that “the nature of bilateral relations with states that become new members of NATO will be affected.”

Threat to Russia

Asked about the possibility that Russia would start a war against Finland as it has done in the case of Ukraine, Peskov wanted to make it clear that “the Alliance is a hostile structure for the Russian Federation, but in relation to Ukraine the situation is radically different. It is not worth comparing, since Moscow hardly had any disputes with Helsinki and Finland never turned anti-Russian. “What happened with Ukraine is diametrically different and potentially more dangerous, hence the need for the Special Military Operation»term with which the Russian authorities refer to the invasion of the neighboring country.

For his part, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu denounced yesterday that NATO “is adopting a whole series of measures to strengthen the combat capacity of its combined forces and increasing training and reconnaissance activities near the borders with Russia.” and Belarus. In Shoigu’s opinion, Finland’s entry into the Alliance “creates a significant risk of expansion of the conflict in Ukraine.”

The Russian Defense Minister again deplored arms shipments to Kiev by the United States and its allies. “This year alone they are willing to supply more than 200 Western-made main battle tanks and more than 400 armored fighting vehicles. The Ukrainian Army is receiving long-range weapons, including shells with a range of up to 150 kilometers,” he assured. He also criticized the fact that there are plans to “transfer to kyiv ATACMS surface-to-surface tactical missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers, as well as F-16 fighters.”

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