Finland Is Building a NATO Base 100km From Russian Border

• 10.04.2024, 7:44

Details:

It is planned to create a new headquarters for NATO ground forces in the city of Mikkeli in southern Finland located about 100km from the Russian border. The Finnish newspaper Iltalehti writes about it.

The publication notes that the so-called high readiness headquarters operates in Mikkeli, it is operational 24 hours a day. The authorities plan to create a NATO headquarters there, which will be subordinate to the command of the joint forces in the city of Norfolk in the United States – part of the NATO military command.

In addition, it is known about plans to send at least 375 officers of NATO member states to work in Mikkeli, at least 25 of them are from Finland. It is assumed that in peacetime, the base will coordinate land operations in the region.

Norwegian Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said that thanks to the creation of the NATO Land Forces Command Center, there will be an opportunity to "reap the benefits of the membership of all the Nordic countries" in the Alliance.

“So that we can really take advantage of all the Scandinavian countries being in NATO, it is important that we are in the same headquarters for all the armed forces,” says Gram.

Journalists of the publication note that Norway was able to convince the Сommander-in-Сhief of the Allied Forces in Europe to create a new headquarters in Finland. This issue will also be discussed at the summit of the North Atlantic Alliance in Washington in July this year.