Russian Duma deputy Aleksey Zhuravlyov.Image: imago stock&people
Tensions between Russia and the NATO member Finland are heating up. Now a Russian parliamentarian is blatantly threatening the Scandinavians.
June 28, 2026, 06:42June 28, 2026, 06:42
Tobias Schibilla / t-online
A high-ranking Russian parliamentarian has threatened Finland with harsh words. According to the Kremlin-affiliated portal Gazeta.ru, Aleksey Shuravyov, deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Defense Committee, said Russia already has enough military equipment at the border to “blow up half of Finland.”
The comments came a day after Finland announced plans for a joint project with US defense company Lockheed Martin. Europe’s first maintenance center for multiple rocket launchers is to be built in Tampere.
Shuravlyov accused the Finnish government of leading the country “into the abyss” and of deliberately provoking Russia. At the same time, he declared that Moscow would further strengthen its defense on the shared border. He also claimed that Finland was “gradually developing into a second Ukraine” after joining NATO. The politician is considered a hardliner even by Russian standards and has already threatened Finland with its “destruction” in the past.
Finland is strengthening its defense
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022, Finland gave up its decades-long neutrality to join NATO. The Scandinavians share a border of around 1,300 kilometers with Russia and have been working much more closely with their Western allies on defense issues since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had already criticized Finland’s accession to NATO and declared that Helsinki would have “problems” as a result.
The Finnish-Russian border has been closed since 2023. The government in Helsinki accuses Russia of conducting hybrid influence operations and expanding its military infrastructure along the border.
Is Russia planning an attack on NATO?
In recent months, various reports have come to the conclusion several times that Russia is significantly expanding its military presence on the borders with the Scandinavian states. This is also why Finland, Norway and Sweden have launched a defense conference in order to be able to respond in a coordinated manner to the saber rattling from Moscow.
In addition, the Finnish Parliament recently passed a change in the law that allows the transport and stationing of nuclear weapons on Finnish territory as part of alliance defense. The new regulation comes into force on July 1st.