Russia Reacts to Finland NATO membership

A Ukrainian rocket fired towards a Russian-held location. Photo: Daniel Berehulak/NYT.

Finland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) last Tuesday after remaining militarily non-aligned since the end of the Second World War. Despite Russian leaders’ claims over the past year that NATO’s inclusion of Finland would not be perceived as a serious threat, Russia has publicized initiatives to strengthen its defenses near the Finnish border and elsewhere.

The enlargement of the Western coalition, which has doubled the length of NATO’s direct borders with Russia, comes at a time when the offensive in Ukraine has been gradually slowing, and the effects of the war on ordinary Russians’ civil liberties at home have been worsening.

For his part, President Vladimir Putin and his administration seem to be getting somewhat claustrophobic. After the announcement of Finland’s accession, the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the reversal of non-alignment as a move that would “destabilize” an otherwise secure region of Europe. It also warned of countermeasures: “The Russian Federation will have to respond with military-technical, as well as other measures in order to address national security threats.” The specific needs for buildup near the border would depend, they said, on the degree to which NATO militarizes in the region.

For several months Russia has been bolstering its defenses far from the warfront with Ukraine. In Moscow, residents have had to become accustomed to anti-aircraft weaponry on tall buildings and training exercises conducted nearby. On the offensive, Russia’s military has recently tended to assault Ukraine from the air. Last month, Russia barraged Ukrainian cities with 81 advanced missiles in one night. Some targets were hundreds of miles away from the front lines, signaling a possible strategy of bombardment-from-afar.

Ukraine, too, has employed similar strategies, though on a smaller scale. Using rockets and drones is attractive because they are unmanned and can carry destructive payloads over long distances. Some of the sensitive American intelligence documents that were leaked this week suggest that Ukrainians have considered or attempted using drones against targets inside Russia and Belarus, where Russia was given the green light to station its troops before entering Ukraine.

Map showing growing border between NATO and Russia. Photo: Business Insider.

According to Reuters, Russian Lieutenant General Andrei Demin, a senior air commander, spoke to the Red Star newspaper about air defense overhauls which “are undoubtedly planned and will be implemented” in order to address the changing nature of the war, in which both Russia and Ukraine have both focused on air-based offensives. The Red Star, whose website is blocked in the United States, is the press outlet for the Russian Ministry of Defense.

So far in the Ukraine war, northwestern Russia has not seen much action. But since Finland joined NATO, the Ministry of Defense intends to reform its air defenses there as well. It is a sign that Russian leadership feels growing pressure from the Western organization, which already has done all but join the war to support Ukraine. In response, Moscow has decided to exert its own pressure, reinforcing a hard border against Europe in the North while attempting to expand its territory in the South.