Russia is rapidly building a new military base near the Finnish border that experts estimate could house between 4,000 and 6,000 troops, according to a June 10 report from Finland’s public broadcasting company Yle.
The construction comes amid reports of a wider expansion of Russia’s military presence near NATO borders.
The base is located in the village of Novaya Vilga, close to the city if Petrozavodsk in Russia’s northwestern Karelia region, around 170 kilometers (105 miles) east of the Finnish border, reports said.
The Kremlin officially announced the construction on June 3 when the Russian Ministry of Defense published footage showing a deputy minister, Lt Gen Pavel Fradkov, inspecting progress at the site.
The ministry said more than 50 facilities were “being built from scratch, including modern dormitories, barracks, dining facilities, a park area for military equipment, sports grounds, and others.” Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense via Storyful