00:00Finland is accelerating preparation for all potential conflicts, nuclear, hybrid war or
00:09even a full-scale invasion.
00:11It has a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, although this has been closed for over a year
00:15after Russia sent over 1,000 migrants there to destabilize the country.
00:20Since then, Finland has been dealing with other warfare, such as the tampering of undersea
00:25cables, disinformation and the presence of so-called Russian shadow oil fleets, which
00:30illegally transport Russian oil, contravening Western sanctions.
00:35The Finnish border guard has been always an organization, a readiness organization, which
00:41has built its capabilities to operate in a situation like today.
00:48But of course, it is also true that, for example, the phenomenon of shadow fleet, phenomenon
00:53of GPS disturbance and illegal immigration in the eastern borders are something that
00:59we have seen only in last years.
01:01We have seen, let's say, cable cuts, cable breakdown points, which are under criminal
01:08investigation.
01:09As I mentioned before, we also see a threat for an environmental accident in the Gulf
01:14of Finland, and one part of this is GPS disturbance, which can be seen especially in the eastern
01:22parts of the Gulf of Finland.
01:24Conscripts, which have long been part of Finland's overall security policy, are now training
01:29with the possibility that they could be defending the whole of Europe since the country joined
01:33NATO.
01:35Finland has been preparing for any war for several decades.
01:38The invasion by Russia in 1939 is something that Finns are constantly reminded of, and
01:43the key principle of this comprehensive security and defense strategy is deterrence.
01:49To deter any potential invader, in particular Russia, that this country is prepared, its
01:54society as a whole and military are well trained.
01:58It's not aimed only towards Finland or the neighboring countries, but Russia is trying
02:04to destabilize the whole of Europe.
02:07So the whole Europe has to take this hybrid war seriously.
02:12Because Russia cannot pressure us by threatening in the way of conventional war, because we
02:20are all members of NATO, the hybrid war is the mean they use to threaten us.
02:26Helsinki says it's now open to new EU defense spending, including defense bonds.
02:31The government says investing in European security fits in with the country's overall
02:35security strategy.
02:36Shona Murray, Euronews, Helsinki.
02:42For more UN videos visit www.un.org
Comments