Russia threatens nuclear weapons over Finland's NATO accession... "Tactical nukes deployed in Belarus completed"

Russia "Iskander Missiles Transferred to Belarus"
Border Areas with NATO More Than Double Compared to Before

Finland has become the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), prompting a strong backlash from neighboring Russia, which shares a border with Finland, threatening to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in its adjacent satellite state, Belarus. With the border area between Russia and NATO more than doubling, the likelihood of Russian military provocations and accidental military clashes between the two sides is expected to increase significantly.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

According to the British BBC on the 4th (local time), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu warned, "Finland's NATO membership has greatly increased the possibility of the Ukraine war intensifying, and we have no choice but to take corresponding measures." He added, "We have sent Iskander missiles, which are tactical nuclear weapons, to Belarus," and stated, "They can be equipped with nuclear warheads and may be deployed on combat aircraft."

Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, also said at a briefing that day, "The Kremlin views (Finland's NATO membership) as a deterioration of the current situation," emphasizing, "NATO's expansion is an attack on our security and Russia's national interests." He warned, "This forces us to devise countermeasures from both tactical and strategic perspectives."

Russia's strong opposition stems from the fact that Finland's NATO membership has more than doubled the border area between Russia and NATO in Europe. Once Sweden's membership is also approved soon, Russia will be completely isolated in the Baltic Sea region, where important export and import ports are concentrated, and Kaliningrad, Russia's exclave, will be entirely surrounded by NATO countries.

There is also analysis that Finland's newly joined military strength will pose a significant burden from Russia's perspective. Finland is said to have an elite standing army of 30,000 and a reserve force of 280,000, and it is evaluated to possess artillery forces stronger than the combined artillery forces of Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Norway.

Meanwhile, earlier that day at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Finland's NATO membership was fully confirmed, and a ceremony was held to raise the Finnish flag at NATO headquarters. Turkey, which ratified Finland's membership last, handed over the official document specifying Finland's NATO membership to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, completing Finland's accession process.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the event as a "historic day," emphasizing, "Finland's accession is because of the war in Ukraine initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin." He added, "President Putin caused what he wanted to prevent, and that is the only thing we can thank him for."

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, also welcomed the event, saying, "Just a few years ago, it was unimaginable that Finland would become a NATO member," and added, "Now Finland will be a full member of our alliance, and this is truly a historic event."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.