NATO's Newest Member Says Ukraine 'Has Right' To Use Its Weapons To Attack Russian Soil
It was only last April that Finland formally entered NATO as the military alliance's 31st member. This week Moscow has announced that it is initiating additional "military-technical measures" along its border with Scandinavia, also in response to Sweden's recent accession approval.
But already Finland is off and running with advancing a bellicose posture sure to only fuel already soaring tensions with Russia centered on the Ukraine proxy war.
Finnish broadcaster Yle reported Thursday that the government has given the OK for Ukrainian forces to use Finnish weaponry to mount attacks on Russian territory.
Soon after the 2022 Russian invasion, Finland began joining other European countries on sending defense aid to Kiev, and has thus far sent an estimated nearly $2 billion worth of arms packages.
Chair of the Finnish parliamentary defense committee, told Yle that "Ukraine has the right to use these [Finnish] weapons against military targets also on Russian soil."
However, "A key condition for Western military aid to Ukraine is the commitment to avoid using it on Russian soil," the publication also said. Finish officials have explained that thus far they have abided by that stipulation in respect of the desires of other Western allies.
But with Ukraine forces clearly being beaten back in the east, and with manpower and arms shortages becoming a dire problem, Finland is apparently joining the chorus of bolder and riskier pledges when it comes to supporting Ukraine.
The past number of months have meanwhile witnessed increased cross-border attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, but also civilian areas of places like Belgorod city near the border. This has resulted in scores of civilian casualties, after which Russia typically conducts large airstrikes against Ukrainian cities.
Moscow has also of late sought to highlight the alleged active presence of French mercenaries near the border, and has accused Western intelligence of assisting Ukraine with attacking targets on Russian soil. This means NATO and Russia are inching closer to direct, all-out war.
⚠️ FINLAND INAUGURATES ALEXANDER STUBB AS PRESIDENT FOR THE NATO ERA (Reuters)
— PiQ (@PiQSuite) March 1, 2024
Alexander Stubb took office as Finland's president on Friday, ready to oversee a new era after it joined NATO in response to neighbouring Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
During his campaign for the… pic.twitter.com/PZrrKOKUZ7
Certainly if this trend catches on of European leaders openly advocating that Western weapons be used to attack Russia directly, bigger war becomes more and more inevitable unless some kind of negotiations can be kick-started fast.
