"Finland - the Second Ukraine": the Russian Federation outlined the goals of the war - ISW

According to analysts, in the Russian information space declared territorial and ideological goals of expanding the war outside Ukraine. In Finland, nationalist sentiment is allegedly growing. American researchers from the Analytical Center "Institute of War" noted that the Russian Federation has rhetorical parallels in narratives on Ukraine and Finland, which indicates that the future ideological and territorial goals of the Kremlin are not limited to Ukraine alone.

About it writes "Institute of War Study" in the summary of December 26. One of the Russian guidance bloggers on December 26 stated that thanks to recently signed US agreements, they had access to 35 military bases in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, including the Finnish base 137 km from the border from the Russian Federation. In total, Washington has access to 15 military facilities in Finland and 17 in Sweden.

According to the Russian source, Finland becomes "the second Ukraine", probably through Finnish neo -Nazi organizations and the growth of nationalist movements such as the Karelian National Battalion. The mention of neonacism and nationalism is in line with some of the basic ideological justifications that the Kremlin has used for a full -scale invasion of Ukraine. Recently, the Russian Federation has taken a number of measures to counteract the neighboring country in military terms.

The Leningrad Military District was created, the possible area of ​​combat operations will be located along the Russian-Finnish border. More aggressive rhetoric and military position on Finland indicates that the Russian Federation pursues great goals outside the battlefield in Ukraine, especially through the recent Finnish access to NATO. ISW analysts do not believe that the current military potential of the Russian Federation is sufficient to threaten Finland or any other NATO country.