High-quality author list Who will fight first with NATO's challenge?Russia Finland!It is the anti-Russian vanguard of the West!
On December 28, the Russian side believes that Finland could become the first victim of the NATO conflict, according to **ia**. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative to international organizations in Vienna, said in an interview that Finland may suffer retaliation from Russia after joining NATO, because in the event of a military conflict between NATO and Russia, Finland will be at risk of the first round of strikes.
Finland shares a border with Russia and has long been considered a "neutral and friendly" country by Russia, maintaining good neighborly relations. However, on April 4, 2023, Finland officially became a member of NATO, becoming the 31st member of NATO. Two months later, the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kiwinen, and the Supreme Commander of NATO, General Philippe Lavigne, signed a joint statement, marking the military integration of Finland and NATO.
In addition, Finland signed an agreement with the United States in mid-December to strengthen defense cooperation. Under the agreement, the U.S. military is authorized to deploy equipment and supplies at 15 military bases on the territory of Finland, which poses a significant challenge to Russia. This has caused concern in Russia, especially with regard to the military build-up carried out by NATO on its borders, which has expressed strong concern.
Although Putin said that all disputes between Russia and Finland have been resolved and there are no problems in relations between the two countries, these issues may resurface with Finland's accession to NATO. Finland's membership in NATO has sparked retaliatory actions from Russia, with Putin publicly warning that Russia will redeploy its military forces and strengthen the defenses of the Leningrad and Moscow military districts, while deploying some military equipment around Finland.
The reason why Russia has chosen to take action against Finland is, on the one hand, to show a tough stance to other neighboring countries in order to prevent them from joining NATO, and on the other hand, it is related to a series of provocations that Finland has carried out against Russia after joining NATO.
In recent times, Finland has adopted a series of anti-Russian policies, which have changed noticeably from the past. At the beginning of July, Finland tightened restrictions on the entry of Russian property owners and decided to completely close the border crossing in the southeast of the country near St. Petersburg from November 18 to February 18, 2024. In addition, Finland imposed entry restrictions on Russia from November 9 and closed its borders completely from December 15. This series of measures has made Russia feel provoked and provided an incentive to act.
Finland has not only agreed to accommodate the presence of US troops, but is also massing troops on the border with Russia. In addition, Finland has openly expressed its support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Finland's Prime Minister Elina Valtonen revealed that they have carried out 19 rounds of military aid to Ukraine, totaling more than 1.3 billion euros. Defense Minister Antti Kekkonen also revealed that Finland is about to start producing artillery shells, providing Ukraine with support worth tens of millions of euros.
As Sergei Lavrov, the head of Russia, said, Finland is becoming the vanguard of the anti-Russian movement in the West, rapidly evolving into the front line of the anti-Russian, Russophobic and racist movement in the West. The principle of a fighting nation is revenge, and the reason why Finland is so active is undoubtedly because of the support of the United States and other countries. However, in fact, in the great power game, small countries often fall victim, and Finland has a hard time getting out of this fate.
Finland is responsible for its transformation from a friendly neighbour to being the first country to be hit. Scott Ritter, a former intelligence officer for the US Marine Corps, has pointed out in no uncertain terms that although it is widely believed that Finland's accession to NATO will put Russia at a disadvantage, in reality it will only cause problems for Finland itself, and that "Finland is asking for trouble by joining NATO!"”