Finland strengthens defense with NATO base near Russian border
Finnish Defence Ministeri Antti Hakkanen and Commander of the Finnish Army Lieutenant General Pasi Valimaki attend a press conference, as defence administration of Finland proposes Mikkeli, the town where the Finnish Army Command is based, as the location for NATO's Multi Corps Land Component Command, in Helsinki, Finland, September 27, 2024. (Reuters Photo)
Finland will place a key NATO base less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) from its border with Russia, “sending a message” to its eastern neighbor, the defense ministry said Friday.
Finland became a NATO member last year, dropping decades of military non-alignment after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said NATO’s new headquarters for the Northern European land command unit will be in Mikkeli, one of the closest cities to Finland’s 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.
“Finland is sending a message to Russia that we are a full member of NATO and that NATO has a powerful role also in Finland’s defense,” Hakkanen told a press conference.
The Finnish defense forces’ army command is already located at the site of the future base.
“By combining the locations, we achieve the best possible synergy between national defense management and NATO defense management,” Hakkanen said.
The military alliance’s Multi Corps Land Component Command will operate under NATO’s Norfolk command in the United States, which oversees the Atlantic and Arctic regions.
Hakkanen said the headquarters would be staffed by a few dozen people from different NATO countries.
In June, NATO defense ministers gave the green light for Finland to host the Multi Corps Land Component Command as well as the Forward Land Forces (FLF).
Details about the FLF – NATO’s rotating, multinational ground forces based in several countries on NATO’s eastern front – will be announced at a later stage, Hakkanen said.
