Russia Strongly Objects to Finland’s Decision on Nuclear Weapons Legislation

Kathmandu. Russia has strongly objected to Finland’s decision to lift the legal ban on the import and deployment of nuclear weapons. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on June 29 that Helsinki had formally confirmed its readiness to fully participate in NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy.

The Finnish Parliament approved the bill on June 17. The legislation had been submitted by the government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. A total of 125 members of parliament voted in favour of the bill, while 61 voted against it and 13 were absent. President Alexander Stubb approved the bill on June 26.

Zakharova described Finland’s decision as the result of an anti-Russian mindset. According to her, what Moscow views as deeply rooted Russophobia, cultivated in Finland over the past several years, has prevailed over the pragmatic common sense that Russia had previously associated with the Finnish people.

She said Finland had abandoned its formerly balanced and reasonable policy of military non-alignment after joining NATO. In her view, Finland is now moving from the position of a once-neutral country toward becoming an obedient instrument of the nuclear ambitions of what she described as an aggressive militaristic bloc.

Zakharova also argued that Finland’s top political leadership and relevant agencies had repeatedly stated that there was no direct military threat to Finland from Russia. Against that background, she said, the decision to lift the ban on nuclear weapons was groundless.

Russia considers the move a real threat to its national security. Zakharova said Moscow would have to take additional political and military-technical response measures to counter those threats. She stressed that such measures would be taken in a timely and effective manner.

She also called on the Finnish people to question whether the decision taken by their political elites would actually make Finland safer.

Finland joined NATO in 2023 after decades of military non-alignment. The latest change in its nuclear weapons legislation is viewed by Moscow as a serious shift in the security architecture of Northern Europe. Although Finnish officials have previously stated that Finland does not intend to host nuclear weapons on its territory during peacetime, the legal amendment aligns the country more closely with NATO’s deterrence and defence framework.

For Russia, Finland’s decision is not merely a domestic legal adjustment. Moscow sees it as part of NATO’s expanding military and nuclear posture near Russia’s borders, and as a step that could further destabilise the strategic environment in northeastern Europe.