Putin to position troops at Finland’s border

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to send troops and military hardware to the Finland border following Finland’s accession to NATO. In an interview with RIA and Rossiya-1, Putin describes Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership as a pointless step for their national interests. He highlights that military forces and destruction systems which were previously absent will now be deployed to the Finnish border. Putin’s remarks come as Russia approaches an election where his re-election is highly expected. Finland became a NATO member on April 4 last year, with Sweden joining shortly after. Both countries sought NATO membership after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Lastly, Putin claims Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if necessary but has seen no need for that in Ukraine.