Russia is building barracks and fortifications on its borders with NATO countries.

Russian authorities have increased the number of military units on the border with Finland and Norway in recent years, The Wall Street Journal reported on April 28. As reported MedusaThe publication cited satellite images provided by the American company Planet, which is engaged in commercial satellite imaging.

The Wall Street Journal published satellite images of two military units: Kamenka in the Vyborg District of the Leningrad Region on the border with Finland, and the village of Sputnik in the Pechenga District of the Murmansk Region on the border with Norway. According to the images, new military housing has been built in Kamenka, according to the Finnish research organization Black Bird Group. In Sputnik, the publication reports, storage facilities for military equipment have been expanded.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Russia plans to build new barracks and training grounds, modernize arsenals, and upgrade railways near Petrozavodsk in Karelia, where a new army headquarters is planned to manage tens of thousands of troops. Emil Kastehjelmi, an OSINT analyst with the Finnish organization Black Bird Group, reported that Russia is building warehouses and housing for the military.

On the subject: Russian financiers warned Putin that the war has already practically killed the Russian economy.

New railway lines are being built along the borders with Finland and Norway, as well as south of St. Petersburg to the border with Estonia. Existing railway lines are being expanded.

"There are dozens of crossing points on the Russian-Finnish border where mechanized troops can cross. If you see them building new railway stations or renovating old ones, it's worth paying attention," noted Juha Kukkola, a professor at the National Defence University in Helsinki and an expert on the Russian armed forces.

In 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an increase in the size of the Russian army to one and a half million people (for comparison: before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the number of troops was approximately one million people).

Many of the new soldiers currently involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine are expected to form the backbone of the Russian army preparing for a confrontation with NATO, Western military and intelligence officials have stated.

The majority of the new troops, as the publication notes, will be transferred to the Leningrad Military District, which borders Finland, Latvia, and Estonia. According to Western military and intelligence sources, small brigades will nearly triple in size, becoming divisions of 10 personnel.

Military experts in Russia characterize the activity along the Finnish border as part of the Kremlin's preparations for a potential conflict with NATO, the publication notes.

"When the troops return from Ukraine, they will be looking across the border with Finland at a country they consider an adversary. The logic of the last decade shows that we expect a conflict with NATO," Ruslan Pukhov, a pro-government Russian military expert and director of the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, told the publication.

An unnamed European intelligence official stated that Russia may attempt to test NATO cohesion by invading a small NATO member state, such as Estonia, where a large ethnic Russian population resides. Michael Kofman, a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated that he believes Russia could conduct a "limited operation against the Baltic states" "fairly soon." He added that officials in the Baltic states are "considering a timeframe of two to three years after the end of Russian aggression in Ukraine."

“If we are talking about a large-scale war, presumably with NATO, then the timeframe could be from seven to ten years, depending on the scenario,” Kofman said.

In February, Danish intelligence published a report warning that Russia could launch a full-scale war in Europe within five years if it believes NATO is weakened and disunited, or if it decides the US will not assist Europe. Western military officials said a ceasefire in Ukraine would allow Russian forces to prepare even more quickly.

As The Wall Street Journal notes, Russia increased its military spending this year to more than 6% of GDP, up from 3,6% before the full-scale invasion. (By comparison, the US will spend 3,4% of GDP on military spending in 2024, while EU countries will spend an average of 2,1%.)

In recent years, Russia has increased production of T-90M battle tanks: while in 2021, according to Western intelligence estimates, Russia was producing around 40 vehicles per year, now it's almost 300. A high-ranking Finnish military official emphasized that the new tanks are rarely sent to the front lines in Ukraine; they are kept on Russian territory.

Russia is expected to increase artillery and ammunition production by approximately 20% in 2025. Most of the new weapons will be delivered to units stationed along the NATO border. Old and refurbished Soviet-era weapons are currently being shipped to Ukraine, the publication writes.

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, testified before the US Senate in April that the Russian Armed Forces were "recovering and growing faster than most analysts had expected."

"In fact, the Russian army, which bore the brunt of the fighting, is larger today than it was at the beginning of the war," he emphasized.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

In recent months, the number of Russians signing contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense has increased. According to US estimates, approximately 30 people sign contracts monthly, compared to 25 per month in the summer of 2024. Some Eastern European intelligence officials claim that 40 Russians sign contracts monthly.

According to European intelligence agencies, the increase in the size of the army allowed the Russian Armed Forces to rotate troops in Ukraine and create new units that have been trained and are now stationed in Russia.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Nikol Pashinyan won the Armenian elections: Russia is losing influence in the country.

Czech police detained a Russian Orthodox Church bishop after drugs were found in his car.

Donald Trump's favorite architect presented a White House redesign project in Russia.

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.