Foreign Ministry: the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO carries risks of tension in the Arctic. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to seriously strengthen the Russian Armed Forces in the western direction.
According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Leningrad and Moscow military districts were created against the backdrop of threats associated with the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the move could lead to increased militarization of the Arctic, which carries the risk of increasing military-political tension in high latitudes.