How Finland Is Preparing For A Russian Invasion
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Jul 16, 2017
In September, Russia will conduct its Zapad 2017 military exercise, the largest since the end of the Cold War, and one which is already sending shivers down the spine of NATO, which not only has “serious doubts Moscow is revealing the true extent of its military exercises”, but because the last time such a major training exercise took place was just before the Crimea “annexation.” One country, however, isn’t taking chances: Russia’s northern neighbor Finland, which as the WSJ reports, is “going underground.”
In something straight out of an H.G. Wells novel, Helsinki has built an entire subterranean city beneath Helsinki which forms a “crucial line of defense for the capital. Finnish soldiers routinely train here, with a mission to keep Finland’s government running and city residents safe in a network that features more than 124 miles of tunnels, passageways and shelters” the WSJ reports.
The “extensive underground network” has been adapted over recent decades with one thing in mind: to become an impregnable defensive redoubt which provides most of the amenities of regular, above the surface existence: blast doors seal entrances…
.. passageways are adapted so the military—with a regiment dedicated to controlling the tunnels—can contain enemy infiltrators; utility and subway tunnels provide arteries for communications; there is a constant water supply and even Wi-Fi. In fact, there is enough shelter space for all city’s more than 600,000 residents in the event of an attack or disaster.
While the underground fortress has long been in place, the upcoming Russian drills are shaping up as a focal point for some very nervous Finns: “The soldiers make sure we will have the advantage underground if they ever come to us wanting a fight,” a former Finnish Defense Ministry official told the WSJ.
Showing just how pervasive anti-Russian sentiment has become across Europe, the WSJ notes that “with thousands of Russian troops expected to mass at the border for the exercise, the Finns worry the training could be a screen for aggressive military moves.” Which is ironic because even as Russia’s war games take place on Finland’s border, NATO – of which Finland is not a member – has been aggressively stepping up its own presence in the Baltics, across the Gulf of Finland.
Still, that has not assuaged the local paranoia that the upcoming Russian drill could result in an outright invasion:
“More than looking at what will happen during the exercise, we’re more interested in what will happen afterward and make sure that the troops actually do leave,” said Jarno Limnell, a Finnish expert on cybersecurity and military science.
The Rest…HERE
