Russian units on the border with Finland on full alert

A motorized unit stationed in Alakurtti is participating in a large-scale military exercise of the Russian army held near the Kola Peninsula, reports the Patria News Agency.

Russian soldiers arrived in the isolated town located about fifty kilometers from the border in January, and have been on "full alert" since Monday, reports the portal YLE.

"The motorized unit in Alakurtti will be tested for the first time," confirmed the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The arrival of soldiers in Alakurtti has been widely covered in the Finnish media. This is a town that belonged to Finland before World War I, and analysts assess that the deployment of soldiers near the border represents a return to the military doctrine of the Soviet Union.

Norway is currently conducting its own military exercises involving 5,000 soldiers, while Finland is testing NH90 helicopters in the Lapland region. On the other side of the border, Russia is testing the combat readiness of 38,000 soldiers, 41 ships, 15 submarines, and 110 aircraft and helicopters.