Finland hails plan for allies to join Nato land forces on its soil
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Finland, which has a longer border with Russia than any other Nato state, has strengthened the frontier in the two years since it joined the alliance.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Six Nato states, including the UK and France, will join the Forward Land Forces (FLF) in northern Finland, strengthening Nato's presence.
- Sweden will lead the Nato land force establishment in Finland, with potential for up to 5,000 soldiers if security worsens.
- Nato land forces will arrive in northern Finland this year, with a new headquarters for officers established in southern Finland.
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HELSINKI – Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen on June 25 hailed plans for six Nato member states, including Britain and France, to participate in land forces that are to be established in northern Finland.
Finland, which has a longer border with Russia than any other Nato state, has strengthened the frontier in the two years since it joined the military alliance following a policy U-turn after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“I am very pleased that yesterday, in connection with the ministerial meeting, we were able to announce that Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are set to join FLF Finland,” Mr Hakkanen said on social media platform X, referring to what Nato calls Forward Land Forces.
Nato leaders were meeting on June 25 in The Hague.
Helsinki and Stockholm agreed in 2024 that Sweden would lead the establishment of a Nato land force in Finland, and invited other allies to participate.
The number of troops is yet to be defined. But the Finnish Defence Ministry has said that there is a plan for up to a brigade – about 5,000 soldiers – and a significant number of equipment to be brought in if the security situation worsens.
The first Nato land forces will start to arrive in 2025 and be placed above the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi and Sodankyla, it said.
In addition to the foreign reinforcement force in the north, Finland will host a new Nato land force headquarters for officers in Mikkeli, southern Finland, about a two-hour drive from the Finnish-Russian border. REUTERS
