Shoigu announced the “multiple increased threats” to the Russian Federation from Poland and Finland

At a meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu called Poland “the main instrument of the US’s anti-Russian policy” and expressed the opinion that threats to Russia in the western and northwestern directions have “increased many times” recently. He called the “militarization of Poland” and the accession of Finland and, in the future, Sweden, to NATO.

As Shoigu said, “risks for Russia” are caused by Poland’s large-scale purchases of weapons from the USA, Great Britain and South Korea. He called Finland’s accession to NATO a “destabilizing factor”, and suggested that a “shock weapon” capable of hitting Russian territory at great depth could be placed on the territory of this country. According to Shoigu, “measures to neutralize threats from Western countries are being worked out.”

• Finland decided to abandon its traditional neutrality and join NATO after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. The same decision was taken by Sweden, whose application has not yet been approved by two of the 31 NATO countries. Poland also decided to strengthen its armed forces after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Other measures were taken to strengthen the so-called eastern flank of NATO.
• At the same time, as one of the goals of the invasion, the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, named the threats that NATO expansion allegedly posed to Russia. The United States and its allies warned Moscow against the invasion, saying that the response would be to strengthen the defense capabilities of the Union.
• Representatives of the Russian authorities previously stated that they do not see any particular threats from Finland joining NATO, since Finland has no territorial claims against Russia. Poland doesn’t have them either.
• In recent weeks, Poland has expressed serious concern over the placement of “Wagner” PMC mercenaries in Belarus. Putin recently issued an indirect threat to Poland, calling its western territories “Stalin’s gift” after World War II.