Finland warns of ‘elevated’ risk of Russian spying, influence

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) -The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (SUPO) warned Tuesday that the risk of Russian spying and influencing operations is “elevated,” despite Moscow’s weakened ability to conduct human intelligence operations.

The cyber environment and critical infrastructure are “particularly susceptible” to such threats, the intelligence agency said in its annual report.

The main objective of Russian influencing operations is to establish a “deterrent” to negatively affect the nature of the Nordic country’s NATO membership, SUPO said.

The agency also pointed out that the war in Ukraine is Moscow’s main focus at the moment.

“Russia's main attention is elsewhere than in Finland, and a military threat is not likely in the near future," it said.

Russia considers Finland to be an “unfriendly country” as it targets the Nordic nation with “espionage and wide-ranging influence.”

For that reason, it is necessary “to be prepared for malicious activity, now and in the long term," SUPO Acting Director Teemu Turunen said in the report.

The intelligence service further warned of Russia's "hostage diplomacy" while reiterating its earlier claims that the neighboring country is Finland’s biggest security threat.

"As Finland's border neighbor and a country at war in Europe, Russia is the most significant threat to Finland's national security,” the agency said.

Helsinki’s weak relations with Moscow are the new normal, it said.

"Russia's influence on Finland will probably be more active than what Finns were used to before the Russian war of aggression," the agency cautioned.

SUPO estimated that Moscow is likely to create problems for Finland in the near future, but the situation is not exceptional, as many European countries have been in a similar situation for a long time, it said.

Following the statement, SUPO’s special investigator Petteri Lalu said at a press briefing in Helsinki that the Russian espionage only succeeds occasionally.

However, the report warned that Russia's influence should not be underestimated.

"Often it is enough for Russia to cause uncertainty and confusion," it said.

The Nordic country's NATO membership drew military threats from the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing the West of "dragging" Finland into the military alliance and creating a rift between Moscow and Helsinki.

In December, Finland closed its border with Russia, with Finnish authorities accusing Moscow of carrying out a suspected "hybrid attack" and purposefully assisting undocumented migrants in crossing into the Nordic country, which Russia denied.