Russia rehearses attack on Finland and Baltic states
Russian leader Vladimir Putin (photo: Getty Images)
NATO believes that Russia has rehearsed an attack on Finland and the Baltic states, reports Iltalehti. In their view, the war in Ukraine has shown that Russia is willing to take significant risks.
NATO sources said that Russia has practiced an attack on Finland and other countries on the eastern side of NATO. According to the sources, the defense report generally considers an attack by the Russian military on Finland, Northern Norway, or the Baltic states possible.
The media outlet writes that the Russian attack would allegedly be a simultaneous operation of several different units of the Russian army. The attack would have involved tens of thousands of Russian soldiers.
“In the north, the 14th Army Corps would attack the Norwegian coast from Murmansk by sea, land and air. The Russians will land in Finnish Lapland. Russian missile troops deployed on the Kola Peninsula will also invade Finland,” the sources said.
NATO believes that in the event of an attack, Russia will try to create a buffer zone in Northern Lapland and Finnmark in Norway, which will bring the fighting to the territory of NATO countries.
Last March, the NATO defense alliance practiced the deployment of 20,000 troops in northern Norway and Finnish Lapland.
And earlier this year, NATO conducted large-scale exercises near the Russian border.
Last month, NATO's largest artillery military exercise, Lightning Strike 24, began in Finland. It is part of a series of exercises by NATO member states in Europe.
