Finland and other NATO countries conduct tests on the border with Russia

Moscow, May 24 – Finland, with the participation of military personnel from the United States and the United Kingdom, is conducting the Karelian Sword 25 military exercises in the Kymenlaakso region on the border with Russia, the Finnish Armed Forces report.

The objective of the tests is to strengthen the capacity of national military units to operate collectively, enhance combat skills and joint operation capabilities with NATO countries.

Five thousand soldiers are participating in the maneuvers, of which approximately 2,800 are recruits and 1,800 are reservists, and 740 are military personnel. They also include some 700 heavy and armored vehicles, as well as helicopters from the United Kingdom.

Karelian Sword 25 will take place from May 23 to June 1 and is just one of many events the Army is preparing for this season, during which it plans to train more than 20,000 soldiers for homeland defense tasks and cooperation with coalition forces.

In April, Russian presidential advisor Nikolai Patrushev asserted that the ongoing NATO exercises near Russia's borders are aimed at practicing scenarios of preemptive strikes against permanent bases of Russian nuclear deterrent forces, blocking shipping in the Baltic and Black Seas, and even seizing Kaliningrad Oblast. (Text and photo: RT)