Russia vows to reinforce forces on Finnish border and ‘liberate’ them as EU country joins NATO TODAY

RUSSIA has vowed to increase its forces on the Finnish border to “liberate” the Nordic country, which will join NATO today.

The desperate claims come as Finland becomes the 31st member of the military alliance and deals a heavy blow to Vladimir Putin while his troops continue to flounder on Ukraine’s battlefields.

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The somber message from the Kremlin comes in direct response to Finland’s historic ascension into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Tuesday.

The Nordic nation is the first to join its ranks since North Macedonia joined in 2020, ending the country’s decades of military non-alignment.

The long-awaited addition comes after both Finland and Sweden applied to join the alliance nearly 12 months ago.

He was hampered by the refusal of Hungary and Turkey to ratify the proposal, both of which caved in last week.

Finland and Russia share a painful 810-mile border.

The move will roughly double the West’s transatlantic border with Moscow.

However, in response, Russia has promised to “strengthen our military potential in the west and north-west directions.”

Alexander Grushko, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, told state media that NATO expansion required “additional steps to reliably ensure Russia’s military security.”

The growing pressure from NATO became the main topic of the Russian TV program 60 Minutes and was criticized by experts.

Dmitry Abzalov said the situation with Finland was a “mess” and “already out of our hands”.

Olga Skabeyeva, host of Russia-1, went a step further and claimed Finnish territory as “our historical country” and urged Russia to take action against Finland’s threatened membership.

She said, “We must liberate the fraternal Finnish people.”

It follows claims last year that the Kremlin would take “appropriate countermeasures” and deploy 12 units and divisions to its western military district.

Despite the hostile warning, Finland is expected to join the alliance today – which has been welcomed by the NATO chief.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it would make Finland more secure and strengthen the collective alliance.

Stoltenberg said: “We will hoist the Finnish flag here at NATO headquarters for the first time.

“It will be a good day for Finnish security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole.”

Finland will be the sixth NATO nation to share a border with Russia, along with Norway, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland.

The Finnish contribution will add more than 257,000 soldiers to the combined armed forces.

However, Turkey continues to block Sweden from joining the alliance as talks between the two countries deteriorate.

Turkish President Erdogan claims the country has not tried enough to crack down on Kurdish militant groups, which his country recognizes as terrorists.

All NATO members must unanimously agree before a country joins the bloc.

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