Russia is broadening its military infrastructure near the border with Finland, in what NATO authorities refer to as the early phases of a long-lasting accumulation, The New York Times reported Monday.The building follows Russias statement that it would grow its military and produce brand-new systems in reaction to Finland and Sweden joining NATO after Moscows 2022 intrusion of Ukraine.Satellite images supposedly reveal Russian helicopters at a base near the Arctic city of Murmansk their very first look there in 20 years, according to NYT.
The base lies about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the borders of Finland and Norway.At the Olenya air base near Olenogorsk, south of Murmansk, satellite images show a significant increase in military aircraft.
The air base housesRussian long-range Tu-22 bombers.Further south in the town of Alakurtti, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Finnish border, new buildings have actually appeared and can reportedly house dozens of military vehicles.
Similar building was identified in Petrozavodsk, the capital city of the neighboring republic of Karelia.More than 130 troop tents appeared in 2015 at a restored Cold War-era base in Kamenka, situated in northwestern Russias Leningrad region about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the Finnish border.Finland, which now shares NATOs longest border with Russia, closed its land border crossings with Russia in December 2023 after a reported spike in asylum hunters that Helsinki blamed on the Kremlin.Finnish defense authorities fear Russia could triple its troop existence near their shared border within 5 years when combating in Ukraine subsides.The increase of military force in our close-by locations will take place after the fighting in Ukraine silences down, Finnish Defense Ministry policy director Janne Kuusela informed NYT.