Copenhagen, 18 June 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Russia is boosting its military presence along the border with Finland two years after Finland joined NATO, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported on Wednesday on the basis of recent satellite images.

The images show construction work on a garrison for an artillery brigade in Kandalaksha in the Murmansk region, according to the broadcaster, which said it formed the first definite sign of a permanent increase in the number of troops near the border.

Local authorities in Murmansk said a new military city was being built and old residential blocks renovated in the town some 150 kilometres from the border. According to Yle, the images show changes in other Russian military bases near the border as well.

Swedish public broadcaster SVT recently evaluated satellite images showing Russian upgrading near the Finnish border. The Russian army is reported to have erected three warehouses in Petrozavodsk around 175 kilometres from the border, each providing space for up to 50 armoured vehicles.

A tented encampment for thousands of troops is reported to have been erected in the Kamenka base, and the Severomorsk-2 airbase, which was closed in 1998, is reported to be undergoing refurbishment.

The Russian activities can, however, not be compared with preparations for the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Citing NATO sources, the New York Times also recently reported that the military activity could not be compared with that ahead of the invasion.

The invasion led Finland and Sweden to apply in 2022 to join NATO after decades of neutrality.

Finland shares a border of some 1,340 kilometres with Russia, by far the longest of any NATO member.

Photo: EPA archive