"Moscow Would Shift Troops If Finland Joined NATO" Topic

"Moscow would reposition its troops if Finland were to join NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

Putin made the comment at a news conference after meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the latter's summer residence in the town of Naantali. It was Putin's first trip to a European Union country since the British vote to leave the bloc.

Interest in the prospect of joining NATO has been rising in both Finland and neighboring Sweden in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea and its backing for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Of course he would. But unless it comes down to a fighting war that doesn't matter, and if it did come down to a fighting war thoose troops would be moved anyway!

Isn't that a bit obvious?

Surely there's no story there, Slow news day perhaps?

Any military leadership worth their paycheck would do so …

Question is which troops? While sizable, the Russians are running out of well-trained and equipped units.

Putin's threats are more intimidating than the action. Just pushing conscripts up to the Finn border isn't all that threatening.

'Just pushing conscripts up to the Finn border isn't all that threatening.'

It isn't meant to be threatening, it's all about posturing and perception. What the troops are doesn't matter.

Which is why I preceeded that statement with
"Putin's threats are more intimidating than the action. "

The last time Russian conscripts invaded Finland, it didn't go so well for them, in part because that winter was the earliest and coldest in a century. With global warming however, Finland can no longer count on the weather.

I believe that Winter War was the only time that Russian forces were stopped by their own natural ally, which had served them well against Swedish and French invasions (not so much against the Tatars, however), and which would shortly assist them again against the Germans.

The Finns can however still field a huge army compared to their size…

Certainly big enough to give Putin pause.

Russia's military is going to be spread rather thin, I think.

Glenn Goffin, actually that was the time before last time (ie. after Winter War we had Continuation War and they did attack us Finns in 1944. But that attack was halted -actually the only Soviet strategic attack that has ever been halted. Anywhere.

Unfortunately, in the 30's and 40's Finns were made of iron. Now we've gone soft…

Now we've gone soft…

You are not alone … so have many other militaries … Or at least downsized to the point of being much less effective.

Now we've gone soft…

Less soft than NATO or Russians.

Of Course ! But as many repeatedly tell us here and in the media. The USA are blood thirsty cowboy warmongers …PAX AMERICANA !

Of Course ! But as many repeatedly tell us here and in the media. The Russians are blood thirsty cowboy warmongers

Naw, we Yanks don't think that way at all. Some foriegners with anti-US agendas like to claim that though.

What Americans do feel is that Putin has hijacked Russia's democracy and put it's wealth into his own pockets while using external threats of war as a means to keep the population in control.

cw – You speak for all Americans, do you?

Seems to me, plenty of non-Americans already claim that role.