Defense agreement with Finland will give US access to 15 military bases on the border with Russia

The Kremlin said it “regrets” the defense agreement between Finland and the United States. Photo: Vesa Moilanen/Shutterstock

The US will win access to 15 military bases along the border with Russia as part of a defense agreement to be signed with Finland next week.

Russia will value the presence of NATO infrastructure near its borders as a threat, said Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman.

“This will certainly lead to tension. We can only regret this,” Mr. Peskov said.

The agreement must be approved by the Finnish Parliament.

Elina Valtonen, the country’s Foreign Minister, will be present in Washington at the signing to meet with Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State.

Washington signed a similar pact with Sweden on December 6, which gives the US access to 17 military bases.

Concerns over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led Finland and Sweden to abandon their military non-alignment and apply for NATO membership.

Finland joined NATO in April, while Sweden is still awaiting its application . will be ratified by NATO members Hungary and Turkey.

There were “no problems” with Finland

The Kremlin said: “We had excellent relations with Finland. No one threatened anyone, there were no problems or complaints against each other. Nobody infringed on anyone's interests; there was mutual respect.

“But now that Finland is a NATO member and NATO military infrastructure will already enter Finnish territory, this will pose an obvious threat to us.”< /p>

Finland is due to sign a defense cooperation agreement with the United States on Monday.< /p>

NATO has warned in recent days that if Ukraine loses the war, Russia will attack other neighboring countries.

Arvydas Anusauskas, Lithuania's defense minister, attends a Leopard tank test. Photo: PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images

On Friday, two German Leopard tanks damaged in Ukraine were tested in Lithuania to demonstrate how the Baltic tank works NATO member. became the center of such work.

“What can I say? A powerful tank.»

Arvydas Anusauskas, Lithuania's defense minister, sat on the turret of one of the tanks as it was driven along a rough road at a military training ground in the central town of Rukla.

«What can I say? A powerful tank.» , he said.

The tanks are expected to arrive in Ukraine next month, almost two years after the Russian invasion.

Western countries have delivered 71 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, according to the latest publicly available data.

Some of them were already damaged beyond repair during the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Lithuania will be the only country in Europe to repair the Leopard 2 A6 and A5. tanks, said the company responsible for the work.

“For these options this is the only unit,” said Sebastian Dietz, executive director of the Lithuanian Defense Service.

The company was founded by German industrial giants Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, which also produce the Leopard tank.

The Leopard 2 tank was created during the Cold War, taking into account possible clashes with the Soviet Union.

Almost a quarter of a century after that Since the Leopard 2 was delivered to the West German army, these tanks are being used in Ukraine against Russian forces who are still heavily dependent on Soviet weapons.