Finland is closely monitoring Russia's ongoing Zapad military drills which are taking place in Russia, Belarus, as well as the Baltic and Barents Sea, according to the commander of the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF), Janne Jaakkola.
Jaakkola made the statement during a speech at the National Defence Course in Helsinki on Monday.
He noted that the Zapad (or 'West') exercises were taking place at a tense time, security-wise, as Russia continues to carry out deadly strikes in its drawn-out invasion of Ukraine. Last week, it was reported that Russian drones violated the airspace of Poland and Romania.
The Zapad exercises began last Friday and are set to conclude on Tuesday.
According to Commander Jaakkola, Russia is using the drills to broadcast its goals and resources to the world.
Destabilisation
Russia last held the Zapad drills in 2021, not long before the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Jaakkola said.
"We remember well how the Zapad 21 exercise was used as a framework for preparations for the war in Ukraine, with troops staying in training areas after the exercise," Jaakkola said, adding that the drill could involve unexpected turns of events.
Around 13,000 troops are reported participating in the Zapad drills. However, that was roughly the same number said to be taking part in the 2021 exercises, and it later turned out the actual number was an estimated 200,000.
According to Jaakkola, Russia is seeking to destabilise the West, and has increased such efforts in the past couple of years. He pointed to the country's recent airspace violations in Poland and Romania.
Jaakkola suggested that Western countries should find new methods to address the increasing use of warfare drones. During the incident in Poland, jet fighters and missiles were used to take down the unmanned aircraft.
"It is of course not cost-effective to respond to the threat of cheap drones with valuable, advanced weapons systems," he said.
More US troops coming to Finland
According to the Minister of Defence, Antti Häkkänen, Finnish and US troops will do a good deal of joint training in Finland this autumn.
"In the future, we will see more and more US troops in Finland on land, at sea and in the air," Häkkänen said during his address at the National Defence Course.
However, he noted that in terms of military strategy, the US is currently paying more attention to the Pacific region, as it pressures Europeans to take on more responsibility for their own security.
The minister also described Russia as being in a weak position and, therefore, dangerous.
"[Vladimir] Putin will have to take more risks and rely on more support from China and North Korea, among others," Häkkänen said.
He noted Russia's strikes on Ukraine in recent months have hit civilian targets around twice as often as it has in previous stages of the war.
