Finland declared ready to fight against Russia if attacked at any time. Finland claims their military is designed to fight large-scale wars.
The head of the Finnish Armed Forces, Timo Kivinen, said that his country continued to maintain high military readiness after World War II.
“We have systematically developed our military defenses designed according to the current type of war [di Ukraina]with the massive use of weapons, armed forces and air forces,” Kivinen said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Ukraine is hard to beat [oleh Rusia]so does Finland.”
In addition, Kivinen said Finland had built up a substantial arsenal. However, the motivation of Finnish citizens to fight is also an important factor, apart from military equipment.
“The most important line of defense must be ingrained in people’s minds, as is evidenced in the current war in Ukraine. The first responsibility for Finland’s defense will remain with the Finnish people,” he said.
In a May 18 poll, about 82 percent of respondents said they were prepared to participate in national defense if Finland was attacked.
Reuters reports, Finland has a wartime troop strength of up to 280,000 men. The country also has 870,000 people trained as reservists.
Not only that, Finland also enforces mandatory military service for men there. The country also builds Europe’s most powerful artillery, and stockpiles cruise missiles that can cover a range of up to 370 kilometers.
Finland also devotes two percent of their budget to defense, more than any member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
In addition, Finland is ordering four new warships, 64 US-made F-35 fighter jets, and 2,000 drones.
If you look at history, Finland had fought against the Soviet Union in the 1940s in two wars. As a result of this war, about 100 thousand Finns died. Finland also had to lose a tenth of their territory.
This loss made Finland decide to become a neutral country. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led this Nordic country to register with NATO.
(pwn/has/bac)
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