Alliance units are practicing the use of UAVs in Finland — why are most of these maneuvers now taking place on the borders with the Russian Federation
Major military exercises involving Sweden and the United Kingdom will start in Finland on May 12. About 7 thousand military personnel will take part in them. The maneuvers will practice firing from closed firing positions, the actions of attack helicopters and the use of drones in the northern regions. Izvestia investigated the purpose of these exercises, why they are increasingly taking place near the Russian borders, and how Moscow will respond to them.
The purpose of the NATO exercises near Karelia
It is known that the exercises will be held at the Rovajarvi training ground in Lapland from May 12 to 31. It is used for training Finnish army gunners, is considered the largest in Western Europe and is located next to Karelia.
In total, about 6.5 thousand people will participate in the maneuvers, of which 350 will be from the UK and 900 from Sweden. This is reported on the website of the Finnish Land Forces.
Photo: AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis
Image source: iz.ru
"The purpose of the exercises is to practice the skills of planning and conducting a multinational ground operation in the northern operational area, as well as practicing the joint use of firepower, leadership, intelligence and situational awareness by the alliance," the report also says.
According to the head of the exercises, Jukka Vuorisalmi, similar maneuvers have been conducted by the Finnish army and its allies for several years.
What other exercises is the alliance conducting now?
NATO exercises on the northeastern flank have recently been following one another. Earlier, Izvestia wrote that Siil 2025 exercises are currently underway in Estonia, which began on May 5.
Their stated purpose was to "defend the region" together with the allies, as well as to check the combat readiness of the Armed Forces of Estonia and the North Atlantic Alliance.
Photo: AP Photo/Hendrik Osula
Image source: iz.ru
The maneuvers practice planning, conducting military operations and firing practice, which should strengthen cooperation between the armies of NATO countries. Special attention is being paid to the deployment of additional allied units on the territory of Estonia, which, if necessary, will strengthen local high-alert units, the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement.
The Siil 2025 exercises have become the largest for the Estonian army this year. In total, more than 16,000 military personnel from the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Canada, Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Estonia itself are participating in the maneuvers. It is noted that Japan, Israel and Ukraine also sent their observers and instructors.
Ukraine as a springboard for NATO countries
NATO is now trying to master the skills and knowledge that they received in Ukraine, military expert Vadim Kozyulin told Izvestia.
"They realized that the UAVs that were in service with the alliance were already outdated," he explained. — During the CBO, military technologies began to develop rapidly. And we can say that Ukraine has become a great testing ground for modern technology and weapons, primarily UAVs. Now, NATO is most likely considering forming separate units of unmanned troops, which Kiev is already doing today.
The Finns joined NATO recently, but in fact they have always been allies and have repeatedly conducted joint maneuvers with units of the North Atlantic Alliance. According to the expert, the current exercises are not something fundamentally new, they are just now being conducted on a larger scale, and this is what makes them a threat to Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (center) speaks at a press conference with Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen (right) and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (left) at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, March 20, 2023.
Image source: Photo: AP Photo/Olivier Matthys
— An adequate response is required from us. For now, we'll just watch what they do and take note of it. NATO always says that they will implement only a defensive scenario, but in the maneuvers they conduct, they practice exercises suitable for attack," he said.
Sweden and Finland have maintained neutrality for many years and maintained good-neighborly relations with the Soviet Union and then with Russia. We benefited from this both economically and politically, said former UN Deputy Secretary General Sergei Ordzhonikidze.
"There was not even a hint of any problems in our relationship," he told Izvestia. — But now, under the influence of the British and other major Western European countries, they have taken an openly anti-Russian position. In particular, they joined NATO. And what did it give them? Only subordination to the military and political leadership of the bloc. This does not enhance their security, but on the contrary. Russia has never been a threat to these countries. On the contrary, she strongly supported their neutrality. We had extensive economic ties with Finland, and with Sweden too. And we have never had any territorial claims against these countries.
Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Vesa Moilanen
Image source: iz.ru
But they always had some territorial claims against Russia, especially in relation to Karelia, the expert recalled.
— I had working consultations in Sweden, I talked with representatives of various political forces, and they all said together: "It's good that we lost the war to Russia during the time of Peter the Great, because we were finally able to stop trying to conquer Europe and deal with the internal political problems of our country." As a result, they were able to build a successful state. I think the Swedes have forgotten these reasonable postulates of their twentieth—century politicians, which were based on the experience of World War II," Sergei Ordzhonikidze said.
Sweden was not affected in any way during the war, although the Soviet Union had evidence that it helped Hitler, the diplomat noted. And Finland was fighting on the side of the Nazis at that time, in particular, it participated in the siege of Leningrad, where hundreds of thousands of our citizens died.
Photo: AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis
Image source: iz.ru
— But they got out of the war in time, and the Soviet Union forgave their participation in the extermination of our citizens. But we could have done otherwise. Finland has become a peaceful, neutral state, receiving enormous benefits from cooperation with the USSR and Russia. They have risen economically only because of this," Sergei Ordzhonikidze emphasized.
The lessons of the past must be remembered and we must think that any hostile actions against a country like Russia will not remain without serious consequences, the expert concluded.
Julia Leonova
