Russia takes “countermeasures” against Finland, Sweden joins NATO, reduces gas flows to Helsinki
Moscow will take “appropriate countermeasures” to counter military threats near its western borders from Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership, Russia says. Minister of Defense.
In a speech on Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that “tensions continue to rise in the area of responsibility of the Western military district. We are taking adequate countermeasures.”
According to the RIA news agency, Shoigu said his government would respond by forming 12 new units in its western military district and would improve the combat strength of its troops.
Finland and Sweden formally applied to join the NATO alliance on Wednesday.
President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that Moscow would respond if the alliance strengthened military infrastructure in the two Nordic states.
By applying the first round of countermeasures, Moscow has decided to block the flow of gas to neighboring Finland on Saturday morning.
In a statement on Friday, the Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler Gasum announced that “on the afternoon of Friday, May 20, Gazprom Export Gasum informed that natural gas deliveries to Finland under Gasum’s supply agreement will be suspended on Saturday, May 21 at 04.00 (GMT).”
However, the company assured its customers that it will not disrupt the gas transmission network and that deliveries will continue from other sources through the Balticconnector pipeline in the coming months.
“We have carefully prepared for this situation and provided that there are no disruptions in the gas transmission network, we will be able to supply all our customers with gas in the coming months,” says Gasum’s CEO Mika Wiljanen.
At the same time, Shoigu put the responsibility for regional tensions on the doorstep of the United States, saying that Washington has increased its strategic bombers in recent years, sent warships to the Baltic Sea and intensified training exercises in the region with its NATO partners.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has supported Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership, saying that the two Nordic countries will have US “full, total, full support” for their application to join the military bloc.
In a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Washington, Biden claimed that “new members joining NATO are not a threat to any nation.”
“The summary is simple, fairly straightforward,” he said, adding, “Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger, not only because of their capabilities, but because of their strong democracies and a strong united NATO is the foundation of America’s security.”
Their applications are “a watershed for European security,” the U.S. president said, noting that he sent paperwork to Congress on Thursday to facilitate ratification of their bids.
Despite Turkey’s refusal to join NATO, the two Nordic states insist on joining the Western alliance. All 30 NATO members should unanimously agree to the two historically neutral countries joining the alliance.