Gerasimov called NATO expansion at the expense of Finland and Sweden a threat

NATO expansion through Sweden and Finland is one of two new threats facing Russia. About it declared Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, in a conversation with Arguments and Facts.

“Today, such threats have become the aspirations of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand at the expense of Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country,” he said.

According to Gerasimov, in order to eliminate these threats, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed “to adjust the Plan for the Construction and Development of the Armed Forces.” In particular, this suggests the creation of the Moscow and Leningrad military districts, the formation of three motorized rifle divisions as part of combined arms formations in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as an army corps in Karelia.

Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in mid-May last year against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine. At the end of June, the NATO leadership decided to invite these two countries to the alliance. December 4 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland explainedthat Moscow’s nuclear rhetoric was a key factor in prompting Finland to apply to join NATO.

The only countries that have not yet approved the membership of Finland and Sweden in the alliance are Hungary and Turkey. According to the agreements signed in June, Stockholm and Helsinki promised Ankara to investigate and stop any funding and recruitment activities of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), recognized as terrorist in Turkey. In addition, Sweden and Finland pledged to consider Turkey’s requests for the extradition of suspected terrorists, while Stockholm separately announced the tightening of anti-terrorism legislation in the country.