Putin promises to create a military district in the regions bordering Finland. He is unhappy with the fact that this country joined NATO and closed border crossings with Russia.
"They took and dragged Finland into NATO. Did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, in particular, of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th century, have long been resolved," Putin said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin in the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin".
The President of the Russian Federation noted that previously Russia and Finland supposedly had "the most cordial relations".
"There were no problems. Now they will. Because we will create the Leningrad Military District and concentrate certain military units there," he added.
- In May 2022, Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional neutrality against the background of Russiaʼs military invasion of Ukraine and applied for NATO membership. The Russians wanted to prevent the entry of Finland and Sweden, and for this they planned to organize anti-Islamic demonstrations in the countries. Finland joined the bloc in April 2023. Of the 30 NATO countries, Turkey and Hungary have not yet ratified Swedenʼs accession. Turkey blocked the entry, arguing that Stockholm had not fulfilled its obligations to extradite alleged Kurdish extremists.
- Last month, Finland began to close border points with Russia. The Finnish prime minister said that Russia helps illegal migrants enter the country, including, in particular, citizens of the Russian Federation, countries of the Middle East and Africa. Belarus also operates according to a similar scheme, pushing migrants to the borders with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.