By Leila Nezirevic
LONDON (AA) – The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service warned Sweden on Friday of “increased threats” from Russia after the country officially became the 32nd NATO member ending decades of neutrality in the wake of war in Ukraine.
Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) long border with Russia, joined NATO on April 4, 2023, after Russia began its “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
The Nordic country's NATO membership drew military threats from the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin accusing the West of “dragging” Finland into a military alliance and creating a rift between Moscow and Helsinki.
According to the Finnish authorities, since joining the Western military alliance, Russian operations against the country have increased sharply.
Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) warned that the same development may await Sweden.
“We have to be ready,” Supo’s acting head Teemu Turunen told Swedish local broadcaster SVT Nyheter.
“You should never underestimate the capabilities of the Russian intelligence service. They are skilled and we must be ready,” he added.
In December, Finland closed its border with Russia, with the 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.
NATO membership constituted an escalation in the tensions between the countries and “Finland is now regarded by Russia as an unfriendly country which means measures against us,” Turunen expressed.
But even if NATO membership leads to increased threats from Moscow in the short term, there are hopes that the alliance cooperation will strengthen the members' military preparedness in the long term, according to Finnish and Swedish authorities.