Russia is strengthening its strategic capabilities in the Arctic and building new facilities along the border with Finland.
This was stated by Finland’s Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, in an interview with Euronews, emphasizing that the Arctic is of “critical” importance for European defense.
“Russia has most of its largest strategic capabilities — including nuclear weapons, submarines, and long-range bombers — in the area of the Kola Peninsula,” Häkkänen said.
He added that the Russians are “building new military facilities along our (Finland’s) border, just like during the Cold War.”
In his view, “it would be wise to monitor the Arctic and increase Arctic capabilities” for deterrence purposes.
According to Häkkänen, discussions about nuclear deterrence for Europe are desirable, but at present this cannot replace NATO.
Häkkänen stressed that, in his opinion, the United States remains “steadfastly committed” to NATO’s core guarantee under Article 5 on collective defense, adding that “in the short term, this is the only option for Europe” to fully ensure deterrence.
“In the long term, it would be better if Europeans had their own strong capabilities. But in the short and even medium term, we need the United States. This is decisive for European security,” he said.
The minister emphasized that Finland’s armed forces are “fully adapted to Arctic conditions” and are ready to share their expertise with allies to better protect the region.
The Finnish defense chief also welcomed NATO’s defense plan for the High North, mentioning the launch of Operation ‘Arctic Sentry,’ but noted that the region’s security should have been a priority many years ago.
Like 18 other EU member states, Finland requested funding under the bloc’s €150 billion defense loan programme. Its request for €1 billion was approved by the European Commission last month, and final approval by ministers is expected this week. Häkkänen told Euronews that a “significant portion” of these funds will be invested in the land forces to purchase equipment, including armored vehicles and drones.
According to Häkkänen, the EU is drawing the correct lessons from the war in Ukraine and is working on strengthening its defense and taking on greater responsibility.
