Putin’s army could launch attacks across NATO’s northernmost member states in an offensive involving some 600,000 troops, it has been gathered.
Satellite images have emerged showing a build up of Russian forces just miles from the Finnish border, with evidence that Moscow has been establishing troop accommodation, aircraft infrastructure and other new facilities at key military bases.
There have been signs that Russia is sending weapons and troops to the area, from verifiable sources, including from Finland’s Prime Minister and German intelligence, that Vladimir Putin is gearing up for a lengthy conflict with the West.
A Finnish government report cited in news outlet Iltalehti in December states that Helsinki considers an attack on Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic states to be a possibility.
‘Russia is strengthening its military presence and activities in its northwestern direction in all operational environments as quickly as possible,’ the report warns.
Will Putin attack NATO?
NATO sources who spoke to the newspaper reportedly said that Moscow has been rehearsing an attack on the bloc’s eastern flank and outlined a threat assessment of where could be targeted.
A coordinated attack involving a number of Russian units could simultaneously strike the Norwegian coast, Finland’s south and Lapland region, the Swedish island of Gotland and even break into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the sources are quoted as saying.
But experts have suggested that Putin is more likely to opt for small-scale attacks, designed to cause chaos within NATO as it would be forced to grapple over whether to honour its mutual defence pact or allow Russia to take territory to avoid a full-scale European war.
