Russia says Finland’s accession to NATO raises risk of conflict
With Finland set to formally become a member of NATO on Tuesday, Russia said the accession of a new member (and one it happens to share an 800-mile border with) increases the risk of conflict with Russia.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Finland’s accession to NATO “is another aggravation of the situation” calling it an “encroachment on our security and the national interests of the Russian Federation, we talked about this and this is how we perceive it,” Peskov said, Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported.
A New Year decoration Kremlin Star, bearing the letter Z, a tactical insignia of Russian troops in Ukraine, at the Gorky Park in Moscow on Dec. 29, 2022.
Alexander Nemenov | Afp | Getty Images
Elsewhere, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said NATO was “strengthening its anti-Russian course, which leads to an escalation of the conflict,” as he spoke with Russian military officials Tuesday.
Shoigu remarked that the West was increasing its military assistance to Ukraine in the form of tanks and armored vehicles but signaled that Russia was strengthening its own arsenal, saying that some Belarusian military jets are now capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Last month, Russia announced that it would deploy tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus. Shoigu noted Tuesday that Iskander rocket systems, which can be used to carry conventional or nuclear missiles, had been transferred to Belarus.
Shoigu said Russia had “started training the Belarusian troops on how to use the missile system “for the defence of the Union State.” The ‘Union State’ refers to Russia and Belarus’ cooperation in a number of areas including economic and defense policy.
— Holly Ellyatt
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