The longest land border with Russia .. Why is Finland's accession to NATO more dangerous to Moscow than Ukraine?

LONDON

- In defiance of all Russian warnings, Finland has officially announced its intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after years of neutrality and disassociation from the conflict between the West and Russia.

The Finnish government's decision comes as a result of the Russian war on Ukraine, as this European country, which shares with Russia the longest land border at all, about 1,300 km, is sensing the danger and the possibility of becoming a theater for Russian military operations at any time.

Finnish-Russian relations are littered with many tense moments that amounted to the outbreak of a real war that lasted for months, in which the Finnish army, despite its small size and lack of equipment and soldiers, achieved steadfastness recorded by history before the Red Army of the Soviet Union.

Finland's acceptance of NATO means that this alliance is now on the Russian borders, which is what Moscow wanted to remove through its war on Ukraine,

The Finnish President and Prime Minister at a press conference regarding Finland's security policy decisions at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki (Reuters)

Has Russia ever fought a war against Finland?

Between 1939 and 1940 a war known as the "Winter War" or the Russo-Finnish War broke out, in which the small Finnish army faced the giant Red Army.

The reason for the outbreak of that war was almost similar to the current conditions in the region, as Moscow was afraid that Finland would become a base for the launch of military operations of the enemies, in contrast, Finland was among the plans of the Soviet Union to annex it under its banner.

Although Finland declared its neutrality in World War II, this was not enough from the point of view of the Soviet Union, which was asking for some concessions on Finnish territory.

In front of the Finnish procrastination, the Soviet Union fabricated a border incident on November 30, 1939, to announce a military operation against Finland. At the beginning of the battle, the Red Army incurred important and huge human and material losses due to its miscalculation of the extent of the Finnish army's readiness for its smallness.

And the Red Army initially sent old equipment and untrained teams in difficult weather conditions during the winter, which made the Finnish army withstand more than 3 months, before the Red Army descended with its weight.

By February 1940, exhaustion from the Finnish army, as well as a lack of equipment and supplies, prompted it to sign an agreement with the Soviet Union in March 1940 under which 11% of Finnish territory was ceded to the Soviet Union.

In 1948, the Soviet Union would force Finland to sign a friendship agreement between the two countries, an agreement that spared Finland a lot of trouble with its Russian neighbor.

Why does Finland want to join NATO?

There are 3 reasons that explain Finland's rush to apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The first is the Russian war on Ukraine. Finland considers itself the most vulnerable country to what Ukraine is exposed to due to its geographical location and its very developed relations with the West.

The second reason is the great change in the mood of the Finnish people after the war in Ukraine, which moved from the idea of ​​opposing joining NATO to being very supportive.

According to an opinion poll conducted by the Finnish Foundation for Public Services (Yle), 76% of Finns now support joining NATO, compared to 12% against.

The third reason is the desire to benefit from Article 5 of the North Atlantic Charter, which states that any aggression against any country in the alliance is considered an attack against the rest of the countries.

A Finnish soldier during an exercise in the west of the country where the Finnish president and prime minister expressed their support for NATO membership (French)

Finland's military capabilities

Finnish military capabilities cannot be compared with their Russian counterparts due to the vast differences in all aspects, but Finland is making tremendous efforts to prepare for the war scenario.

Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, has an army of 257 thousand soldiers, including 19,250 regular soldiers and 238,000 in reserves, 100 combat tanks, 107 combat aircraft, 19 helicopters, 613 armored and personnel carriers, and 672 artillery.

Finland is expected to bring American F-35s to its bases if it joins NATO, in addition to the Finnish army's experience in fighting in frozen regions.

How can join NATO?

After decades of maintaining a policy of neutrality between Russia and the Western camp, Finland decided to lean completely with the latter camp, and enter NATO after years of discussions and internal debate.

The procedures for joining NATO may take about a year or more before accepting its membership, but both the United States and Britain announced that they would provide the necessary military support to Finland when it was attacked during the period in which its membership application is being considered.

Among the conditions for joining the alliance is that the state be democratic, treat minorities fairly, and be committed to resolving disputes and conflicts by peaceful means, and these conditions are available in Finland.

Among the conditions is also that the state allocate 2% of its gross domestic product to military spending, and this condition is also fulfilled in Finland, which raised its military expenditures by 70% for the next four years.

Finnish soldiers next to a tank during a military exercise called "Cold Response 2022", gathering about 30,000 soldiers from NATO member countries in addition to Finland and Sweden (Reuters)

Russia's reaction

In a strong tone, the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of the consequences of Finland's announcement of its intention to join NATO, which was expected given years of Russian threats to Finland if it thought of joining NATO.

Moscow does not have many papers to pressure Finland, because Finland depends only on a limited number of Russian gas and oil, and since the war in Ukraine it has prepared itself for the possibility of Russia's decision to cut off oil and gas from it.

Among the concerns that Finland had, Russia would carry out cyber-attacks on vital facilities that would disrupt the lives of citizens and make them reject the idea of ​​joining NATO. However, the Financial Times and the Washington Post agreed that Finland has a Highly secured electronic system.