Russia wants to attack a NATO member? He gathers troops and equipment at the border

Russia importantly increases its military presence along the over 1,300 km border with Finland – alerted by Western media and NATO representatives. In response, Helsinki strengthens their own defence forces, intensifying cooperation with the US and NATO, expanding its defence budget and organising joint manoeuvres.


As reported by the "Wall Street Journal" and the "New York Times", citing satellite images and NATO sources, Moscow has for the last months deployed fresh military installations just off the border with Finland, which joined the Alliance in 2023, breaking off the ongoing decade of neutrality policy.

Russia gathers equipment and troops at the border with Finland

The photographs show dozens of tents, fresh warehouses, possibly designed to store military equipment, as well as renewed shelters for fighters.

In Kaminka, 60 km from the Finnish border, more than 130 military tents have appeared since February 2025 – the area, which was undeveloped in 2022, present can accommodate up to 2,000 soldiers.

On the another hand, 3 immense halls were created in Petrozavodsk, 160 km from the border, which can accommodate a full of about 150 armored vehicles. The command is to oversee tens of thousands of Russian soldiers.

This is another component of the Kremlin's wider military strategy. Following Finland's accession to NATO, Russia announced plans to increase the number of soldiers from 1 million to 1.5 million.

In January of that year, the Finnish Department of War Art of the National Defence Academy published a study which analysed possible scenarios of Russian action against NATO. Experts do not regulation out that Moscow can scope for the tactics of "unexpected attacks on a limited scale", aimed at destabilising the region and disrupting the Alliance's decision-making process.

According to the authors of the report, specified actions would be part of a hybrid war strategy, on the 1 hand investigating NATO's ability to respond quickly, on the another hand undermining the unity and determination of the associate States. possible targets can become delicate areas from northern Norway, through Finland, to the Baltic States – strategical regions, located close to Russia's borders and key maritime routes and NATO military infrastructure.

Analysts emphasise that these areas are peculiarly susceptible to limited-scale activities – due to their geographical proximity to Russia and comparatively little defensive possible compared to the larger members of the Alliance.

The study besides shows that this kind of operation may be increased after 2030. According to Finnish experts, Moscow can number on fast and local provocations to make disputes in NATO about the legitimacy of the launch of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty – i.e. the commitment to a common defence in the event of an attack on any associate State.