HELSINKI, January 25 (Reuters) – Finland has stepped up its military readiness as international tensions rise due to Russia’s military rise near Ukraine.

Finland, which is not a member of NATO and has a long border and a difficult history with Russia, has not told how its military readiness has changed.

“The readiness of the Defense Forces has been increased because the situation in the neighboring areas has become more unstable,” said Colonel Petteri Kajanmaa, Head of the Department of Warfare at the National Defense College, referring to the Baltic Sea. within the precincts of.

Speaking on behalf of the Defense Forces, Kajanmaa said that the instability in the Baltic Sea region was due to Russia’s unpredictability.

“They (the Russians) have made their goals clear, but we don’t know what action they are ready to take,” he said.

Russia has accumulated tens of thousands of soldiers near Ukraine, but denies any plans to attack a neighbor. NATO has responded send about 4,000 soldiers in multinational battalions in the Baltics and Poland and is considering increasing.

Kajanmaa refused to specify Finland’s measures, but said that increasing the capacity usually meant gathering intelligence, informing the state management more often and moving resources such as planes and ships to new locations.

“This way they can control more effectively and have a shorter reaction time,” Kajanmaa said.

The Defense Forces also made themselves visible by telling openly where they were training, he said.

On Monday, the Finnish Armed Forces announced extensive exercises in Helsinki and the Helsinki metropolitan area this week and next.

Finland is not the target of any military threat, but the Defense Forces must still be prepared for possible actions, Kajanmaa said.

“The more military action there is, even if it’s just an innocent movement, the greater the risk that something will happen, someone will overreact or misunderstand, and we need to be prepared for anything,” he said.

The Security and Intelligence Service has reported that foreign intelligence activities targeting Finland have increased.

“One of the topics of increased interest is Finland’s relationship with the military alliance with NATO,” Deputy Director Teemu Turunen told Reuters, adding that the topic is of particular interest to Russia’s intelligence services.

Finland cooperates with NATO, but is not a member of the Western Military Alliance and is not negotiating to join it – Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto says To Reuters two weeks ago. That message was repeated last week, Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

Reported by Essi Lehto in Helsinki, editors Anne Kauranen and Timothy Heritage

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