Finland prepares for a possible Russian attack, wants to join NATO | USA TODAY

Finnish Reservists’ Associations are seeing an increase in membership since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland's 840-mile shared border with Russia has Finns concerned about a similar attack.

RELATED: Emotional Ukrainians flee their homes after Russian attacks

In the weeks since war broke out in Europe, thousands of Finns have signed up with training associations to sharpen their military skills or learn new ones like first aid. The dramatic rise has been fueled by anxiety over Finland’s geographic proximity to Russia. For the first time in Finland's history, a majority of Finns are in favor of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defensive alliance.

Finland remains one of the few European nations with mandatory military service, primarily due to its lengthy 830-mile shared border and memories of battles with Russia during the last century.

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37 comments

  1. Proud of the Finnish people for taking this step and acting together most importantly. We should all fight and protect against things like Russian Invasion etc.

    1. Well, it is not too late to realize that Russia never change. They were just too blind to see that Russia has been always the threat.
      I know there were or still are a lot of Putin fans in Finland.

    2. @Michael McMillan I know but I’m just hoping they would keep to their word and actually put boots on the ground not just arms

    3. @Lord Bertos They literally have a nato quick reaction force which as a joint nations force ready to go at all times containing 40,000 troops that would be deployed within 30 days

  2. Putin’s actions! If you had a neighbor who murdered and burned out another neighbor should you worry? How about if he’s done it 4-5 times, why worry? 🚜🇺🇦🛩️

  3. I don’t understand why the Russian govt and the people in general don’t reflect on why this is happening.
    Absolutely insane.

    1. @heryone heryone
      How’s the trolling today?
      Perhaps you could add to the conversation by explaining why Russia is seemingly unaware of their situation.

    2. @Forrest C. Adcock Apparently, the Russian soldiers at Chernobyl took “souveniers” home with them. Honestly, it shocks me that there could be so many highly educated people in Russia and some who are completely wtf???

    3. @Harlee Quin it’s just the same as Chinese people not knowing about Tienamen Square or how many people died during the Great Leap Forward. Their governments have banned teaching it. They have simply never been told about it.

      What’s even sadder is that the maps they were using (because Russia doesn’t have GPS and has to rely on paper maps) were printed in 1985 and wouldn’t have had the nuclear exclusion zone marked because the Chernobyl meltdown hadn’t happened yet.

  4. La Finlande (et la Suède) doit joindre l’OTAN le plus rapidement possible (avant cet été 2022 au plus tard) sans réveiller l’Ours Russe (Poutine) !
    Finland (and Sweden) must join NATO as soon as possible (before this summer 2022 at the latest) without waking up the Russian Bear (Putin) !

  5. Putin really believed that NATO is a threat to Russia when it wanted nothing from Russia. His actions gave NATO the reason to still exist.

    1. @MestizoMarquez why I can’t see those replies , community guidelines doesn’t want Americans to learn facts

    2. @Nikhil what facts? Like Russias collapsing economy that won’t last past 2050? Or Russias joke militarily that would get steamrolled by a much better trained US let alone NATO military? Or the fact that Putin just made NATO more powerful than ever and Russia weaker? Those are some facts that I love I can keep listing more if you want me to?

  6. To be unable to decide on your own country’s situation just because you have a neighbour that bullies you must be extremely horrible. It’s refreshing to see Finland standing up to Putin.

    1. @Mudlbz oh yea it’s real peaceful in Ukraine right now, their neighbors are being super peaceful over there

    2. Well, Russians and Finnish people have long and bloody history between them. And Finland is famous for its valor against the Soviet Russia in 1940s. Since they couldn’t subdue the will of the Finnish people, what makes Putin think Russia could take on two fronts simultaneously?

    3. @The_Dragon_Gamer we are not in 1940 its better to not repeat history try provoke them otherwise we’ll end up like Ukraine

  7. Whether or not Russia makes a very grave mistake of trying to invade, NATO will support Finland militarily, and Finland will join NATO quite soon. Russia, by invading Ukraine, has shown its true intentions. Sadly, it has also reduced its status in the civilised world, well below that of the Cold War period. A Russia with Putin is effectively finished.

  8. Russia won’t do nothing to Finland especially if they join NATO because an attack on one is an attack on all and plus Stalin tried and miserably failed Finland are goats 🐐 and the greatest sniper is from Finland

  9. If there is any country prepared for any Russian aggression, it’s Finland. Do not equate Finland’s friendliness with weakness. Finland has been preparing for Russia since the Winter War of 1939.

  10. Finland had a perfunctory neutrality and had to walk a tense, horrid tightrope through the 50s,60s,70s,80s and 90s. Now they can breathe.

  11. I believe it is unlikely NATO would allow Finland to join, that’s the last thing Russia wants at this moment: more countries bordering or close to Russia joining NATO. If Finland does join, nuclear war will be on the table…I don’t think NATO would want to risk that if they still take Russia’s nuclear threats seriously.

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