The 58-year-old lieutenant general says that Russia is building new military infrastructure along the border with Finland, and that the Russians – as soon as possible – will place more soldiers there.
When Russia is finished with Ukraine, that is, when they can withdraw their forces from the Ukrainian border, then they will come to our border, says Virtanen.
Similar information has previously come from Finnish intelligence services, among others as recently as in January, reports Iltalehti.
According to Virtanen, Russia is constantly testing the borders of NATO's Article 5, which means that the members of the alliance are obligated to help an attacked NATO country.
Russia has been testing Article 5 all the time with mass migration, cyberattacks, GPS disruptions, and information and disinformation campaigns, he says.
That said, Virtanen does not see any acute danger of a new Russian attack in Europe.
It is very unlikely, but still possible. We were surprised in 2022 by the full-scale invasion, he says, referring to Russia's attack on Ukraine.
Finland joined NATO in April 2023.
