Finland could face massive cyber attacks and even a Russian invasion if it attempts to join NATO, according to the country’s president.
Should Helsinki request membership in the Western military alliance, President Sauli Niinisto said Moscow would send a “robust” military force into the country and “destabilise Finnish society” through cyber hacking.
‘Even some critical societal functions can be jeopardised.’
Despite Russian warnings, a record majority of Finns now support joining NATO, according to the president’s remarks.
Earlier this month, public support for Finland’s entry reached 62 percent, up from 53 percent at the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Last month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned Finland and Sweden that launching a NATO accession bid would have’military consequences.’
‘Finland and Sweden should not base their security on undermining the security of other countries,’ she said.
‘Their accession to NATO could have negative consequences, including military and political consequences.’
If Finland joins the alliance, it will become the sixth member of the alliance to share a land border with Russia, escalating Kremlin concerns about NATO’s ‘encirclement.’
However, any potential NATO membership bid by Helsinki will not be decided by the president.
Although the president of Finland is technically in charge of foreign policy, the position is now mostly constitutional.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who has advocated for tougher sanctions against Moscow and stated that Finland’s position toward NATO will ‘change’ as a result of the Ukraine war, is far more likely to lead any potential Finnish bid.
Marin’s tough stance toward the Kremlin has earned her a reputation as one of the West’s most vehement critics.
Unlike Ukrainian President Zelensky, she has repeatedly refused to rule out a Finnish application to join the alliance.
What Finland and Ukraine do share is strained relations with Russia: Finns are proud of their country’s defence against Stalin’s aggression during the Winter War of 1939–1940.
In the face of up to 750,000 invading Soviet troops in -43C temperatures, a Finnish army half its size resisted a Russian invasion for three months until it agreed to a cease-fire.
