Russian Lawmaker: We Still Have Enough Equipment to ‘Blow Up Half of Finland’

By Jim Geraghty

Monday, June 29, 2026

 

Earlier this month, the parliament of Finland, the newest member of NATO, voted to change its laws to allow nuclear weapons to be deployed on its soil; Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen declared via X, “the amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act was confirmed today at the presentation of the President of the Republic. The act will enter into force on 1.7.2026. [July 1]. A historic reform of security policy, with which we strengthen the security of Finland and NATO.”

 

There are no formal plans to deploy U.S. nuclear weapons on Finnish territory, and Finnish President Alexander Stubb said Finland does not expect to host any other country’s nuclear weapons in peacetime. (Approximately 100 U.S. nuclear warheads are stored across five NATO nations: Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Turkey.)

 

But the change at least makes it theoretically possible that if NATO detected potential Russian territorial aggression toward Finland, they could deploy nukes as a deterrent. In recent years, Russia has increased its military activity near the Finnish border; more details on that here.

 

The Russians are not taking the news well. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, today called the vote “a vivid, yet deeply troubling, picture of blind Russophobia which firmly entrenched in Finland over the past several years prevailing over the pragmatic common sense that we had always believed to be characteristic of the Finns.” She continued:

 

Given that Finland’s senior  political leadership and the country’s competent authorities have repeatedly issued official statements that Russia poses no direct military threat to Finland, this decision appears all the more unfounded. It creates genuine threats to Russia’s national security, and will require additional political and military-technical response measures on Russia’s part. Make no mistake such measures will be taken in a timely and effective manner. In this regard, the Finnish people should ask themselves whether this decision by their country’s political elite will make Finland safer. [Emphasis added.]

 

One Russian lawmaker went even further. Aleksey Zhuravlyov, first deputy chair of Russian State Duma Defense Committee, told the pro-Kremlin Russian news outlet Gazeta.Ru on June 27, “They continue escalation, trying in every possible way to anger Russia. We, of course, will not succumb to provocations, but we will strengthen our defense on this very significant section of the border. Even now, I assure you, we have enough military equipment concentrated there to blow up half of Finland.”

 

Nothing says “we are not a threat to you” like declaring that your military could blow up half of the country you’re addressing.

 

Now . . . if the war in Ukraine were going well, would a pretty solid majority of the Finnish parliament — 125 for it, 61 against it — vote to make a move certain to antagonize Russia?