Finland and Lithuania are prepared for Russian aggression, as it may invade Finland and seclude Lithuania from the power grid.Â
Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen, 62, poses for a photograph at the Defence Command headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, June 16, 2022. Picture taken June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Anne Kauranen
Finland prepared for Russian Invasion
According to Finland’s commander of military forces, the country has been preparing for a Russian invasion for many years and would repel one forcefully if it happened.Â
The Nordic country has stockpiled a sizable arsenal. However, General Timo Kivinen noted that an important element is that the Finns would be inspired to fight in addition to the military equipment.
Kivinen said in an interview “The most important line of defense is between one’s ears, as the war in Ukraine proves at the moment”.
In the 1940s, Finland fought two wars with its eastern neighbor, with whom it shares a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border.
It was originally a non-aligned nation, but due to worries that Russia would invade like it did invading Ukraine on February 24, it is now applying to join the NATO military alliance.
Helsinki has maintained a high degree of military preparation since World War II.
“We have systematically developed our military defense precisely for this type of warfare that is being waged there (in Ukraine), with a massive use of firepower, armored forces and also air forces,” Kivinen said.
“Ukraine has been a tough bite to chew (for Russia) and so would be Finland.”
During the two conflicts, around 100,000 Finns were massacred. Finland battled the Soviet Union, losing a tenth of its territory.
A total of 280,000 troops, including 870,000 trained reservists, are available for deployment in the 5.5 million-person country. In contrast to many other western countries, it did not stop male military conscription after the Cold War.
In a survey conducted by the defense ministry on May 18, almost 82% of participants stated they would be eager to help defend Finland if it were attacked.
Kivinen applauded Finland’s decision to submit a NATO membership application. Turkey’s resistance to Finland and Sweden’s application is the subject of discussions between the two Nordic nations and Turkey.
Ankara is upset over what it claims to be Helsinki and Stockholm’s support for extremist Kurds and their arms embargoes against Turkey.
Kivinen said that Finland would gain from the deterrent of belonging to an alliance in which an assault on one member is an attack against all of its members.
Additionally, it has constructed one of Europe’s strongest artilleries and amassed a stockpile of cruise missiles with a 370 km range (230 miles). It spends 2% of its GDP on defense, which is more than many NATO nations do.
It is purchasing 64 F-35 fighter planes from American defense giant Lockheed Martin along with four new warships (LMT.N).
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda speaks during an interview in Vilnius, Lithuania June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Ints Kalnin
Lithuania ready if Russia cuts it out of common power grid
No military conflict is anticipated, but Lithuania will be ready in case Russia cuts it off from the regional power system in retribution for preventing train shipments of some Russian commodities to Moscow’s Kaliningrad enclave, the country’s president told Reuters.
He commented after the Kremlin on Tuesday threatened Lithuania that Moscow will react to the EU-sanctioned goods transit embargo to Kaliningrad in a way that would cause the residents of the Baltic state to suffer.
Lithuania forbade the transportation of products sanctioned by the European Union over its territory to and from Kaliningrad, citing EU sanction regulations, with ties between Moscow and the West at a half-century low due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Kaliningrad is surrounded by NATO members Poland and Lithuania and is serviced by rail through Lithuanian territory.
On Friday, Lithuania closed the route used to transport steel and other ferrous metals from the Russian mainland, citing the imposition of sanctions by the EU the previous day.
“We are ready and we are prepared for unfriendly actions from Russia (in response), such as disconnection from the BRELL (power grid) system, or others,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in the interview on Wednesday.
Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are still reliant on Russia for reliable electricity supply thirty years after breaking away from the former Soviet Union and seventeen years after entering the EU.
However, as a precaution in case Russia shuts off the flow of electricity, perhaps resulting in blackouts, Lithuania put equipment on its power link to Poland last year to immediately connect with the continental European grid.
In 2025, a 1.6 billion euro ($1.94 billion) EU initiative proposes to cut the Baltic nations off from their shared power grid with Russia and Belarus in favor of the continent’s decentralized power system.
