The Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday warned that if the United States deployed nuclear weapons in northern Europe, Moscow would consider the storage sites “legitimate targets.
“One does not have to be a military strategist to realize that such facilities will represent a source of direct threat and, naturally, will inevitably be included in the list of legitimate targets under a scenario of a direct military clash between our country and NATO,” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova said during a press briefing, according to Kremlin-controlled news agency TASS.
Her comments come days after Finnish President Alexander Stubb said his country’s recent membership in NATO could provide Finland with a “real nuclear deterrent” in the form of American missiles. While discussing the topic on Friday, Stubb added that the Finnish government would have to decide if legislation needed to be altered to allow nuclear weapons into the country.
Maria Zakharova pictured in Moscow
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova attends a press conference in Moscow on January 18. Zakharova on Wednesday said any facilities hosting U.S. nuclear weapons in northern Europe would be considered “legitimate targets” by Russia…. Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. officials have not publicly addressed Stubb’s remarks, nor have they stated nuclear weapons would be deployed to Finland. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Stubb’s office via email on Wednesday for comment.
Zakharova said that if U.S. nuclear weapons were brought into Finland or another country in northern Europe, “the security of the countries hosting these weapons will by no means get stronger, but on the contrary be harmed.”
She also provided a warning to the Finnish public in regards to Stubb’s comments.
“To what extent the people of Finland are aware of the risks they will have to face is a big question. Such a decision will really change a lot in the context of that country’s security and other issues relevant for that state,” Zakharova said, per TASS.
The spokesperson then reportedly added that deploying nuclear weapons in countries near Russia’s borders would inevitably set up a military confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Finland became a member of NATO in April 2023, which resulted in NATO more than doubling its shared borders with Russia.
Finland’s admittance to the bloc was perceived by many observers as a diplomatic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has said that one of his objectives for his war in Ukraine was to prevent the expansion of NATO on Russia’s borders. However, it was the Ukraine war that spurred Finland and Sweden to simultaneously submit letters of application to join NATO in May 2022.
Last month, Sweden cleared its last hurdle to NATO membership when Hungary’s parliament approved the country’s NATO accession. The membership process will be completed once Sweden deposits the formal documentation.
