Russia has begun renovating a long-abandoned Soviet-era garrison near the politically sensitive border with NATO member Finland.
Located in the northwestern Russian city of Petrozavodsk, about 160 kilometers from Finnish territory, the Rybka garrison has been largely empty since the 1990s.
But satellite images suggest dramatic changes have taken place there since the summer of 2024, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported.
Overgrown, dilapidated forestland appears to have been cut down, with an image from October 2025 showing the newly opened area housing more than 50 military vehicles.
The development comes amid fears in the West that a Ukrainian defeat could open the door to Russian aggression against states on NATO’s eastern flank, including Finland.
What is Russia planning?
Russia established the 44th Army Corps in the northwestern Republic of Karelia, of which Petrozavodsk is the capital, in 2024.
But few of the 15,000 soldiers earmarked to be part of the corps have yet reached the area, with the bulk of the group instead deployed to Ukraine.
Nevertheless, if Moscow’s plans come to fruition, the corps will one day require accommodation and training areas, and so Moscow has reportedly turned to Soviet-era garrisons in Karelia to provide support.
Finnish military expert Marko Eklund told YLE that the assembled vehicles at the Rybka garrison suggest an armored brigade is being formed to one day provide transport for the new army corps.
“The garrison in Rybka is insufficient for the army corps,” Eklund said, so “very large construction projects are to be expected in Karelia.”
Local support
Senior officials from Petrozavodsk and the Republic of Karelia told regional outlet Karelinform that new construction will begin this year and that they would help to facilitate the development.
“Our region has been assigned a responsible task: to be our country’s outpost on the NATO border. Our task as patriots and representatives of the people is to help in this,” Petrozavodsk city council chair Nadezhda Dreyzis said in November.
Artur Parfentšikov, the head of the Republic of Karelia, said in a TV interview last spring: “We are in favor of cooperation, but if our neighbors behave in a certain way, then there will be a response.”
Current presence
The Republic of Karelia currently has between 2,500–3,000 military personnel, with the majority serving in the air force, YLE reported. The air base at Petrozavodsk’s airport holds 80 fighter jets, including advanced Su-35S aircraft.
A local equipment depot also holds around 2,000 tanks, vehicles and artillery systems, most of them Soviet-era hardware. The Radio-Technical Regiment operates about 10 radar stations from its Petrozavodsk headquarters.
Yet garrison construction is far more advanced further north in the town of Kandalaksha, located just below the Arctic circle.
Last June, YLE revealed that construction was underway at the Lupche-Savino garrison there to house an artillery brigade and an engineer brigade. Satellite imagery shows that since May, several buildings have gone up from foundations to roofline, with additional structures now underway.
Russia is also strengthening its forces further south in the Luga region. According to Eklund, the motorized infantry brigade that was stationed there before the war has been converted into a division, meaning its strength has tripled to around 10,000.
The pace of development remains slow while Russia continues its war on Ukraine and requires resources elsewhere.
But the direction is clear. In its latest annual review, YLE reported, Finnish military intelligence estimated that “as the change progresses, Russia’s ability to wage war in the direction of Finland will improve significantly.”