While Finland shores up its defenses near the Russian border, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and prime minister, said that “Helsinki is pursuing a confrontational course of preparation for war with Russia, apparently preparing a springboard for an attack on us.”
The statement was part of an opinion piece by Medvedev published in Russian media outlet TASS. In his column Medvedev also addresses his concerns about Finland having joined NATO, and NATO opening a new regional land forces command center in Mikkeli (Finland), near the Russian border. The NATO exercises which were held the last two years were also addressed as provocative by the former Russian president.
Both Russia and Finland are increasing their fortifications. Last month Finland announced that it is fortifying its border and last weekend Russia announced that it is fortifying its border with Finland due to Finland’s unfriendly actions.
Finland joined NATO in April 2023 to strengthen its security against Russian aggression, prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.