Russia has added Finland to its list of potential nuclear targets after the Nordic country approved legislation allowing the import of nuclear weapons.
Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev revealed the move and criticized Helsinki’s recent decision, which is part of broader legal changes tied to Finland’s integration into NATO following its accession to the alliance in 2023.
That ordinance dismantles a Cold War-era policy that bans possession, manufacturing, sales, and detonation of nuclear explosives on Finnish soil.
It also ensures strict liability for nuclear weapons activities, while any terrorist motives will be prosecuted under existing laws.
Beyond alignment with NATO’s legal framework, Finland emphasized that the measure reinforces deterrence amid a deteriorating regional security environment.
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Following Helsinki’s nuclear reform, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova verified her government would respond with “political and military-technical response measures,” saying that the step would increase tensions in the Baltic and Arctic regions.
“In this regard, the Finnish people should ask themselves whether this decision by their country’s political elite will make Finland safer,” she stated.
The legislation has also drawn criticism from anti-nuclear advocates.
Melissa Parke, executive director of the Switzerland-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, argued the change makes Finland “more exposed” rather than more secure.
“Finland sits in Russia’s immediate neighbourhood,” Parke said. “For four decades it kept itself safe not by matching threat with threat, but by refusing to escalate.”
“This deliberate tradition of restraint has served Finns well through the Cold War and beyond. Today Parliament abandoned that tradition,” she added.
