Nuclear Weapons in Finland Would Threaten Russia- Peskov

The Kremlin on Friday warned that Finland’s plan to lift restrictions on hosting nuclear weapons would be viewed as a threat to Russia, saying Moscow would respond if the proposal is implemented.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that deploying nuclear weapons on Finnish territory would be seen by Moscow as a direct security risk, adding that if Finland proceeded with the move and posed a threat to Russia, Moscow would take what he described as appropriate countermeasures.

“By deploying nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us and if Finland threatens us, we will take appropriate measures.” He said.

Nuclear Weapons in Finland Would Threaten Russia- Peskov. Credit: Civil Georgia.

Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, announced on Thursday that it plans to remove restrictions that currently prohibit nuclear weapons on its soil.

The proposed change would align the country’s policy with the deterrence framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) alliance.

Finland abandoned decades of military non-alignment when it joined NATO in April 2023, a decision triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said the government proposal would allow nuclear weapons to be transported, delivered, or possessed in Finland in the future if such actions were connected to the country’s military defence.

“The government proposal would make it possible in future to bring a nuclear weapon into Finland or to transport, deliver or possess one in Finland if it is connected to the military defence of Finland.”

He explained that the security situation for both Finland and Europe had significantly worsened following Russia’s war in Ukraine.

In recent years, Finland has also accused Moscow of engaging in what it described as hybrid warfare by facilitating a surge of migrants along their 1,340-kilometre shared border, an allegation the Kremlin has denied.