Russia issues nuclear apocalypse warning to NATO as Putin shares intel with Iran | World | News

Russia today issued a major threat to its neighbour Finland over the possibility to see nuclear weapons placed on its territory. This comes amid claims Russia is slipping intelligence to the Iranian regime. Moscow reacted with fury to the Nordic state – a NATO member – acting to lift the current total ban on atomic weapons.

The two countries share a long 830-mile border, roughly the distance in Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned on Friday: “We have indeed seen this statement [from Finland], which leads to an escalation of tensions on the European continent. It is a statement that adds to Finland’s vulnerability, a vulnerability that has been provoked by the actions of the Finnish authorities.

“The fact is that by placing nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us. And if Finland threatens us, we will take appropriate measures.”

Russia currently has one of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, while Finland has no atomic weapons.

Helsinki president Alexander Stubb said that Finland was removing “legislative obstacles” to hosting nuclear weapons.

The move “is not about Finland facing any acute or sudden security threat”, he said. “It is about ensuring that we can participate fully in NATO’s nuclear planning,” he said during a visit to India.

Over the past year, Russia is thought to have been rebuilding bases and military infrastructure near Finland, while Helsinki has answered with tougher border measures, more war games and a growing NATO footprint in the north.

Satellite images suggest Moscow is adding troop facilities, vehicle storage and aviation infrastructure near the frontier.