Finland to deploy US troops near russian border

The russian dictator vladimir putin launched a war in Ukraine on the pretext that NATO was too close to russian borders. One of the results of the invasion was an increase in the border of russia with the Alliance States by almost 1,300 km after Finland joined it. And now at the border there will be soldiers and weapons of the American army.

Finland will sign a defense cooperation agreement with the United States on December 18, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said: "The fact that there will be no need to agree on everything separately, makes organising peace time operations easier, but above all it can be vital in a crisis."

American troops will be able to quickly enter Finland to assist it in case of conflict. To prepare for it, they will be given unhindered access to 15 facilities and zones where they can store military equipment and ammunition, Reuters reports citing the text of the agreement. Among them are four air bases, a military port and a railway in the north of the country. Warehouses for military property will be located along the routes leading to the russian border.

American units will be able to be based in Finland and on a permanent basis, but so far, according to the government, there are no such plans. They will also be able to conduct military exercises in the country.

It is in the northeast, where the quite combat-ready Northern Fleet and strategic aviation pose a threat, that Finland can help NATO confront russia, retired U.S. Major General Gordon Davis said earlier. Finland modernizes the airbase near the city of Rovaniemi, where since 2026 there should be 64 F-35 fighters purchased from the United States. In case of conflict, Rovaniemi will become a regional operational center for NATO forces. A railway passes through it from the port of the city of Tornio, which follows to Kemijarvi - a town an hour from the russian border and seven hours from the russian Murmansk, where the base of the Northern Fleet is located.

Electrification of the road should be completed in 2024, it will facilitate NATO's delivery of reinforcements and military equipment across the Atlantic Ocean directly to russia's borders in the Arctic Ocean.

NATO Member States such as Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Estonia have agreements with the United States, such as the Finnish one, the agreement with Denmark is waiting for approval.