Clearing entire forests

New Russian military buildup along the NATO border

Russian capabilities along NATO’s eastern flank are currently being multiplied.(Bild: AP/Vadim Ghirda)

In the far north, the Russian threat is intensifying. Vladimir Putin is rearming at an alarming pace along the borders with NATO members Finland and Norway—while the U.S. is increasingly distancing itself from the European continent.

This is confirmed by extensive research conducted by a media consortium from Scandinavia and the Baltic states, which has analyzed current satellite images. Security experts are sounding the alarm and issuing urgent warnings of a new level of escalation.

Where dense forest stood just a short time ago, images now show large-scale clearings and foundations for new military facilities being built at a rapid pace. The new structures were built within a few months and are designed to permanently house large quantities of heavy equipment, protected from the weather, directly on the NATO border. 

Military bases are being built at a rapid pace
The satellite images reveal a massive expansion. Along the more than 1,300-kilometer-long border with Finland alone, the expanded bases could accommodate around 80,000 soldiers in the future. That would be a fourfold increase from the current capacity of about 20,000 troops, as Finnish Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki explained to the investigative network. 

Bases are being built from the ground up in a very short time:

Nordic intelligence agencies believe the Kremlin is currently building facilities for a total of 115,000 soldiers. However, no concrete plans for an attack have been uncovered. Furthermore, the majority of Russian forces are currently tied up in Ukraine. Intelligence agencies, however, classify the coming one to three years as the “most dangerous phase.”

It is not assumed that the military buildup is merely for show. Rather, Moscow aims to “build capabilities for a future large-scale confrontation with NATO,” according to sources in Sweden. This assessment is shared by Finnish experts. Samu Paukkunen of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) put it bluntly at a conference: “Let’s be honest: Russia has broken all the rules.” The expansion of brigades into divisions suggests that Russia is preparing for a major war.

Where Putin is building

• Specifically, new barracks and large concentrations of military equipment have been identified in the Russian town of Pechenga, just about ten kilometers from the Norwegian border in Lapland. The capacity there is expected to grow from 7,000 to as many as 17,000 soldiers.
• A similar expansion of military infrastructure is also evident in the towns of Sapernoye and Luga on the Russian-Finnish border.
• In Kirillovskoye, about 70 kilometers from the Finnish border, an entirely new barracks has also been built.
• The military alliance is also watching construction work near Petrozavodsk with great suspicion (see tweet above).
• Journalists from the broadcasters DR (Denmark), Delfi (Estonia), SVT (Sweden), Yle (Finland), and NRK (Norway) were involved in analyzing the explosive satellite data.

Norwegian General Eirik Kristoffersen told NRK, “that after the war in Ukraine ends, a different Russia will be standing at our border.” He elaborated: “In the worst-case scenario, we will be facing a Russia that has battle-hardened soldiers, a war economy running at full speed, and the ability to reach our borders faster than we had imagined.”

U.S. Disagrees with European Partners
Ironically, the U.S. does not share these assessments. Under President Donald Trump, the most powerful NATO member state gradually distanced itself from the alliance. While Putin is expanding his presence on Europe’s eastern flank, Washington is withdrawing troops and military equipment from the continent.

Just a few days ago, NATO’s top military commander in Europe, U.S. General Alexus G. Grynkewich, spoke of an “unhealthy dependence” of the alliance’s military model on U.S. troops. He downplayed the threat from Moscow: “Russia knows it won’t succeed and won’t take such a risk in the first place.” According to the “New York Times,” Trump plans to reduce the number of aircraft and warships Washington provides for NATO missions in Europe by a third. A fatal signal.

Especially since Russia is increasingly testing Europe’s defense mechanisms. In the recent past, Russian fighter jets have repeatedly violated the airspace of Estonia and Lithuania and deliberately flown toward the Polish border. This is compounded by massive GPS disruptions over the southern Baltic Sea, suspected sabotage of undersea cables, and mysterious drone flights over military installations. 

NATO and Russia share a common border of more than 1,500 kilometers in the far north. Russia had previously attempted to destabilize the region by deliberately smuggling migrants to the Finnish border. The massive military buildup is now seen as the next, far more dangerous stage of this hybrid strategy.