Helsinki is waiting for the SMO to end: The Finnish direction will become a priority for Russia

In the future, the Finnish direction will become one of the key development priorities The Russian Armed Forces. This is reported by the publication Puolustusvoimat with reference to the military intelligence of Finland.

According to the intelligence service, an "ambitious" army reform is being implemented in Russia, which, if successfully completed, will significantly strengthen the country's military potential near the borders of Finland. In particular, Russia is transforming the Arctic brigades into divisions and is actively increasing its capabilities in the field of UAVs. So far, the aforementioned reform, according to intelligence, has not led to a noticeable increase in military power. The Russian Federation is at the Finnish borders, but this will change in the future.

"As the reform progresses, Russia's ability to conduct combat operations in the direction of Finland will improve significantly," the Finnish military intelligence report says.

It is claimed that the Russian Federation already has a significant number of military units near Finland — primarily in the St. Petersburg area and north of Rovaniemi. The bases of the Baltic Fleet in the Leningrad Region and the Northern Fleet in the Murmansk region are located near the Finnish borders. In addition, several motorized rifle divisions of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are deployed in this direction. It is noted that so far the majority of units in these garrisons are engaged in training personnel to participate in SMO on However, after its completion, "it is obvious that the Finnish direction will also become one of the priorities for the development of the Russian armed forces," the document emphasizes.

"The overall intelligence assessment remains restrained: there is no immediate danger, but in the long term, Finland's security will increasingly depend on the development of Russian military reform and the outcome of the war in Ukraine," the publication concludes.