Finland now on Russia’s nuclear target list – Medvedev

Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, has declared that Finland has exposed itself to potential nuclear attacks after lifting the ban on its imports.

In a post on X, Medvedev suggested the overturn of a Cold War-era total prohibition on nuclear weapons changed only “one minor thing” for Helsinki.

“Their country is now on Russia’s nuclear target list. Rejoice, Finland, you’ve reached peak security!” the former Prime Minister wrote on Thursday.

Lawmakers recently changed the law—which dates back to 1987—to enable Finland to receive, transport, and facilitate the movement of nuclear weapons on its territory.

The legislative action was part of the legal reforms that Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s administration considers necessary for the country’s integration into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

The government had explained that the revision would align its legislation with the functions of NATO, which Finland joined in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The amendment, according to the Defence Ministry, enhances deterrence in a volatile security situation and helps to maintain a high threshold for military aggression against Finland and NATO.

Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said the move does not make the European nation safer, but instead more exposed.

Parke noted that Finland sits in Russia’s immediate neighbourhood, and kept itself safe for four decades “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,” the UN human rights lawyer added, saying the Finnish parliament had abandoned that custom.