Russia is building huge military bases near Finland, 100,000 troops towards the Nordic border

Russia has started to build a new military complex near Finland, strengthening its presence in Karelia and preparing to station 100,000 troops in the country's north.

New satellite images taken by Finnish public broadcaster Yle reveal that Russia has begun intensive construction work during the winter in Lupche-Savino's closed military settlement, near the Finnish border in Laplandland.

The job is a significant expansion of military infrastructure in the town of Kandalaksha, where new buildings are being built and the foundations are being laid to house two military brigades. It's about building a new military complex for artillery brigades and its personnel, and the Garden Forces Brigade station is planned.

So far, this area served exclusively as a storage area, but now it is becoming an important point of the permanent Russian military presence near the Finnish border.

According to retired Major Mark Ecclund, an expert on the Russian armed forces, the labour rate shows that Russia wants to permanently strengthen its military presence in the area. If the goal was just to send soldiers to Ukraine, there would be no need for this kind of infrastructure”, he noted.

Lupche-Savino is located on the northwest side of Kandalaxha, about 110 km from the Finnish border. The area is important because it represents the narrowest earthly belt connecting the Kola Peninsula with the rest of Russia, including the base of nuclear submarines. Ecclund believes the loss of this close “gryke” would pose a major security risk for Moscow. One mile [1.4 km] of forest has been cleared in the country, a large dig has been made, and several new buildings have been built during the winter. Another dozen buildings are planned. In addition, seven abandoned Soviet-era palaces have been renovated and infrastructure has been built as a school and a cultural centre.

New Military Command and Thousands of New Soldiers

In addition to the Murmansk region, Russia is strengthening its presence in Karelia, where a new 44th Army Corps of about 15,000 soldiers is being formed. Most of the equipment for the facility will come from a large warehouse in Petrozaodask, where Soviet-era tanks and artillery have been renovated in recent months.

According to Eklound estimates, the number of tanks along the border with Finland could triple, and the number of soldiers at the newly created Leningrad Military District could increase by 100,000, compared to 30,000 prior to Ukraine's invasion.

While part of the activity serves to restore equipment and train soldiers for war in Ukraine, the growing number of permanent bases, equipment, and soldiers along the border with Finland shows a long - term military strategy.

“Threat to Finland is currently political in nature, but if the military force is gathering right at the border, then the threat is even physically closer to”, Ecclund concludes.

As a reminder, Russia cites Finland and Sweden's entry into NATO as reason for these movements, and current changes confirm that Moscow now has the capacity to simultaneously wage a war in Ukraine and strengthen its military force at northwest borders./Periscopi/