Finland to place Nato base near Russian border

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/nato-to-set-up-northern-land-command-in-eastern-finland

19 Comments

  1. HELSINKI – Finland will place a key Nato base less than 200 kilometres from its border with Russia, “sending a message” to its eastern neighbour, the defence ministry said on Sept 27.

    Finland became a Nato member in 2023, dropping decades of military non-alignment after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

    Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said Nato’s new headquarters for the Northern European land command unit will be in Mikkeli, one of the closest cities to Finland’s 1,340km border with Russia.

  2. Good. Maybe it will keep more RU “soldiers” away from the frontlines of the Ukraine. Putler needs to be stopped.

  3. This is brilliant.

    The whole reason for the invasion in Ukraine was to prevent the construction of nato bases near the borders of Russia, this helps undermine the entire reasoning.

  4. Yes! Put a giant concrete middlefinger there too so the russians can see it from a long way.

    Maybe put a machinegun position at the tip just for fun!

  5. Good now Russia needs to establish bases in Guanajay, Cuba and have talks with Mexico about bases with nuclear weapons. Also surround USA with ships. It’s the same right? Surely USA won’t have any problems with that.

  6. AnthillOmbudsman on

    I like that picture, same facial expression, and the slicked back hair looking symmetrical between the two.

  7. Unfortunately Karelia will never be Finland again, but at least Finland can protect itself because Russia doesn’t change, always stealing land.

  8. I would have put it in Lappeenranta (closest town to St Petersburg) but that’s probably not a very strategic location. Still, it might have pissed off vova more.

  9. yosarian_reddit on

    On a one to one basis the Finnish military is the most hardcore in the world. The Finns have ‘don’t fuck with me’ energy like no one else.

  10. Actions have consequences. In this case: to bring two militarily powerful, but traditionally neutral nations into NATO.
    Very small violin.

  11. This looks like it’s strategically close to St Petersburg. If Google Maps scaling is correct it looks like it’s 100km from the closest border, near Svetogorsk.

    However, I would have thought it more prudent to put a NATO base out of range of the cheap short range Russian land missiles, i.e. the SS-21 with range of 120 KM, and go further out so you don’t get your missile defense systems overloaded. Maybe Jyväskylä or further. But then you also have to worry about cruise missiles launched from ships so maybe in the middle of the country is good. However if war broke out, the Russian ships in the NATO lake will be the first to be destroyed I would think.

  12. How’s you war going Putin? Losing massive amount of equipment, losing Russian territory and strengthening NATO to the point that see building bases right against your border? Great success!