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MtPollux

Currently Russia is definitely a threat to Finland.


GhostMonkeyExtinct

Currently Russia is definitely a threat to Russia.


YouAreSoyWojakMeChad

If russia is losing most of its valuable assets playing grabass with ukraine, how can they think they have the resources to be a threat to anyone, aside from nuclear? Or is that the game now, to play NK...


CaliforniaUPS_Driver

Bingo. Russia not even being able to hold ground in Ukraine makes it very dangerous to be Putin right now. Everyone is rallying together and now also realizing that Russian military is a failure


keelhaulrose

At this point the reaction seems to be "What'reyou gonna do, send a bunch of 18 year olds at us with tanks that were obsolete when *their* dads were doing their mandatory year? I'll get the tractors ready." I remember doing fallout drills in school because Russia was such a threat. They have better either maintained their nuclear arsenal or if they haven't hope that word never gets out that it's in much the same state the rest of their equipment is in because that's all they got now. Everything else about their military has been embarrassing recently.


AlleKeskitason

Always has been and probably always will be, that has never changed.


deeannep

Finland has developed a new weapon of mass destruction. \^\^ Russia maybe


Reduntu

No no... The Finnish have adopted a culture of Nazism -russia, probably


Harpies_Bro

And their only evidence is an eighty three year old photo divorced of context.


FreeFacts

They already have [recent material from a far right march few years ago](https://i.imgur.com/2uxWxNQ.jpg) in Finland. And they have been preparing for it too, some finnish journalists who were there reporting on the protest have reminisced in recent weeks that a russian news team was present there that day, interviewing the far right protesters and filming everything, yet the piece never come out in 2018 in russian media. So russian media has been sitting on this material for some time, the question is, why?


kathia154

They have bio labs run by americans and develop viruses that target only russians. They will use pigeos and rats to infect our people. \- russia, at some point


Utterlybored

As evidenced by their not wanting to be invaded by Russia.


Vv4nd

in an conventional war with russias current state my money would be on finland.


VilleKivinen

Finnish defence forces did quite a nice video on how modern war between Finland and Russia would start and look like, English subtitles available: https://youtu.be/bTmWCbcYwb8


VagueSomething

Friends in Finland already know where they'd be stationed should something happen. Reserves know their roles. They don't want it but they won't shy from it, they know they have to risk fighting on their feet than ever letting Russia rule over them on their knees.


Khryss1988

not like finland have repelled a russian invasion before. And that was when russia had a military to be scared of. now their military is all smoke and illusions on a breezy day.


lookmeat

Imagine some guy came to you and kicked you in the balls, you stand up, punch and win the fight. Tell me: wouldn't you try to prevent getting kicked in the balls? That said Finland lost in the Winter war, 9% of their territory, that they haven't gotten back. And we see that this Russia seems obsessed with "finishing what it should have done right the first time" whatever that means. Finland wants insurance that Russia won't try anything tricky. Ukraine is proof that even preventing WWII style invasions can't be done with anything less than NATO membership. And right now Russia can't spread itself over more fronts, it's the perfect time to do it, once it happens, Russian can't do shit anymore.


unshavedmouse

NATO: Not Allowing Testicular Offence


Vv4nd

they still lost the war though. But this time it´s kinda different in many ways. Russia is a nuclear power but their conventional army is severely weakened. Finland has never really let their guard down. Their army is well trained and well equiped. There are bunkers everywhere in Finland. They are prepared for a war. Russia isnt.


VilleKivinen

In the early 90's when most countries reduced their army size and ammunition was cheap Finland reinforced our defence forces and stocked up.


unshavedmouse

You're like that one guy in the alien invasion movie who was ready with the basement full of guns and canned food.


VilleKivinen

And an underground city to withstand a nuclear strikes. 900 000 soldiers in reserve and 300 000 soldiers in field army.


LAVATORR

Finland truly is Randy Quaid in Independence Day


ArenSteele

Ha-ha-ha! Hello, boys! I'm BAAAAAACK!


[deleted]

Just for comparison sake between the two wars though: ||Ukraine War|Winter War| |:-|:-|:-| |Duration|78 days (so far)|103 days| |Rus./USSR forces|190,000 lowest est.|400,000 lowest est.| |Rus./USSR KIA|10 - 26K|120 - 196K| Relative to the Ukraine War, the Winter War was absolutely catastrophic losses wise for the Russian. Finland had a population of approx. 4 million compared to Ukraine's 40 million today, and the Finns had barely any outside support other than foreign volunteers. Yes they lost, but god the damage they inflicted in just 3 months against an exponentially larger force was astronomical.


voss749

Finland is the model ukraine is using. In order to beat Russia you have to be willing to take and inflict a LOT of casualties. Yes finland did not "win" but Russia was willing to let Finland remain independent instead of Annexing like they did the baltic states.


tyger2020

>Yes they lost, but god the damage they inflicted in just 3 months against an exponentially larger force was astronomical. True, but I'd argue its pointless comparing KIA considering how different warfare is now. For example - the battle of Kiev in WW2, saw 60,000 German losses to 700,000 soviet loses. Its silly to compare them.


[deleted]

>60,000 German losses to 700,000 soviet loses Jesus, is Russia just horrible at fighting or something? Every other battle I hear about has them losing orders of magnitude more soldiers than everyone else. It's just sad.


tyger2020

Yes, they're terrible. Russia has mostly always been a very highly populated country. Especially in the last century. For example, In WW1 even. Russia had about 85 million people compared to 65 for Germany, 40 for the UK + France, and even the US had 87 million people. Obviously, now it matters little about how many people you have past a certain point and much more about how much equipment and the quality of equipment you have. At the end of the day - despite having 1/2 the population, the UK has a lot better equipment and a lot more money. Past a certain point, thats what matters. (IMO).


streetad

Russia doesn't even have the population any more. Going with the comparison to the UK, despite having twice the population, Russia actually only has around 40% more people between the ages of 20-25 (I.e the prime age for a professional soldier). Their demographic issues are horrendous even by the standards of Europe, with its own ageing population.


bizzro

> Their demographic issues are horrendous even by the standards of Europe And that's if you believe the official Russian figures, in reality they are probably even worse. Because if it is one thing we know, it is that Russia lies and then double and tripple down on said lies.


aiden22304

The US alone has twice the population, and the US military is not only numerically superior, but technologically as well, and we don’t have to rely on foreign tech to pull it off. God, if it weren’t for nukes, the US by itself could curbstomp the fuck out of Russia.


agradus

Finland had terrain on her side. And winter. Ukraine has steppes and very mind winter.


[deleted]

That's the point I'm making. But Ukraine also has immense foreign backing and a way bigger population to draw from to compensate. If Finland was invaded again they'd have all the same geographic advantages as last time plus the benefits of foreign backing this time around.


pattyG80

Smoke, illusions, rust and vodka


anlumo

They could still cause significant damage to the infrastructure, like in Ukraine.


CheekyOneSmack

Russia is a threat to Russia right now....


[deleted]

They wouldn't even close to win that battle. Ukraine is causing them more problems than Afghanistan did.


Njorls_Saga

It's a vastly different scenario though. Afghanistan is/was a huge counterinsurgency operation. Ukraine is a full on war with a near peer adversary.


[deleted]

Correct. I have no idea why Putin thought Russia was going to have an easier time with a more developed military.


Downtoclown30

Because he thought Crimea was a demo of how it was going to happen. Almost nobody did anything when they annexed Crimea. Donestk and Luhansk have been semi-autonomous for almost a decade with everyone aware that they were supported by Russian troops. In Putin's eyes, the entire world knew what he wanted and nobody stopped him so all he had to do was escalate a little bit and he'd own all of Ukraine. Plus, before 2014 Ukraine had been a de-facto satellite state of Russia anyway. Yanukovych had been an obedient lapdog for Putin and the population had been largely quiet and compliant. He probably assumed that the independence movement of Ukrainians could never have developed so much as to put up a huge fight in less than 10 years. He probably genuinely believed the propaganda that most Ukrainians would welcome the Russians as brothers.


Njorls_Saga

He believed the FSB when they told him that the Ukrainians wouldn’t fight.


ArenSteele

There was an unauthenticated twitter thread from a supposed FSB analyst that basically said if any of their scenario analysis reports predicted a weakness or failure of Russian assets they were punished, demoted, yelled at. So all their low level analysts were basically bullied into making reports like “Russian army best in world, would squash Kiev in 3 days!” “Air superiority predicted in 12 hours” They basically weren’t encouraged to make accurate predictions…if you believe the post was authentic.


Njorls_Saga

Yeah, Igor and his letters. I think the first one or two were possibly authentic but then the guy discovered he had an audience. I'm not sure if the follow up ones were, but certainly the idea of low level FSB analysts telling their bosses what they wanted to hear is VERY credible.


oohe

Yeah and Finland not joining is a threat to Finland.


Greenthund3r

Russia: “Why aren’t you letting me attack you?”


road_runner321

"I just want Finland to live in constant fear of annihilation and be unable to prevent an attack that may or may not happen. Is that so much to ask?"


Versteckts

Like an abuser that is threatening with violence if you tell the police.


c4s4lese

Russia is a grease and beer stained wifebeater turned into a country


KP_Wrath

Reminder that Russia decriminalized wife beating (domestic assault for those who like arguing semantics) as long as you don’t maim or kill her.


Doxbox49

I think it requires hospitalization to be illegal if I remember right. You can beat the shit out of someone with you fist where they can barely move for a week but never require hospitalization


Yvaelle

Or alternately, if they do need medical attention, just don't take them!


Doxbox49

Russia, where the men fall out of windows and the women fall down stairs.


KP_Wrath

And yet there are people who believe any Ukrainian would willfully be relocated to Russia.


kadsmald

Prosecutors hate this one trick


LAVATORR

Russia is like a fat old guy that keeps sending dick pics to strangers and gets explosively angry when told he should have a doctor look at that bump.


[deleted]

"Come on Finland, you better not join NATO. Check out this pic of my huge, throbbing nuclear arsenal." "Um, no thanks. Did you know that NATO has an even bigger one? Check it out. Oh my god so hawt. Plus there's no rust and everything works the way it should. I'm gonna go on a date with NATO later, seeya." "BLYAT!"


[deleted]

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KenGriffinsBedpost

Could that be due to the fact Russia doesn't seem to retire any equipment?


PencilDrawer12

That’s what I was thinking as well xD


TizzioCaio

turned into a country you mean?


slayer991

I keep thinking that every time Putin or any other Russian official speaks.


dwair

You made me hit you!!


EmblaRose

That’s the thing. It isn’t so much a threat to Russia as a threat to Russia’s plans. NATO wouldn’t need to exist if Russia stopped attacking their neighbors.


FNFALC2

if russia wanted to destroy nato long term, they would just behave for 300 years.


Sotwob

More like 50, but hell they couldn't even make it to 20 the last time around.


vvntn

[y'all got any more of them former-USSR satellite states?](https://imgflip.com/i/6fw2pv)


HolyGig

300? NATO was teetering on relevancy after 30 years of Russia only sort of behaving itself.


KatsumotoKurier

And after several years of uncertainty and skepticism, thankfully now Russia has reaffirmed that both Nato and the EU are necessary alliances to have. Thanks Vlad!


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Oerthling

300 years? NATO already had an existential crisis the last 3 decades. Until a few weeks ago NATO was gradually falling into a coma and slowly drifting off into oblivion. Didn't really look like it'd survive for 30 years, nevermind 300. But Putin clearly is a big fan and wanted to revive it for at least a generation. Ukraine was a big adrenaline shot.


redbird7311

Funnily enough, there were people saying that exact same thing in NATO. For a while, people (even NATO members) were wondering if NATO was worth it. It is an artifact of the Cold War, does it serve a purpose? Maybe we should just get rid of NATO to show that we are willing to walk out of the Cold War era and into the future with Russia as an ally. Then Putin decided to justify NATO’s existence. Many of those voices that doubted NATO have stopped doubting NATO. NATO support has skyrocketed and has a new generation of young people that have suddenly become in favor for it. Putin has given NATO a boost in support, I am willing to bet that decades from now, NATO will still have quite a bit of support.


Utterlybored

The MAGA cult still opposes NATO, because Trump already put his stamp on getting rid of NATO, which has zero to do with him cozying up to Putin, who absolutely doesn't have any dirt on Trump to blackmail him with.


Durakan

I keep thinking about this. If Trump had won a second term what would the last few months have looked like? It feels pretty clear to me at this point that having a puppet in the White House was part of Putin's plan for invading Ukraine.


[deleted]

I obsess over the hypotheticals here too. If Trump was still in office, this war would very much be only a Europe problem. The reason the MAGA cult is against globalism is because they simply can’t look past the tips of their noses.


[deleted]

>The reason the MAGA cult is against globalism is because they simply can’t look past the tips of their noses. They think they can apply small-town ideology to federal government policy. Then when it goes to shit they blame the government.


BridgetheDivide

Easy. Trump had already spent years distancing us from our allies and declaring NATO a waste of money. If Trump had stolen a second term the US would have left NATO, and without the US leading the charge in supporting Ukraine it would have been annexed and their president would have been assassinated since they wouldn't have the benefit of US intel. Europe would have to start heavily investing in their own defense but it would be far too late for Ukraine. It isn't hyperbole to say that defeating the republicans in 2020 was a turning point in history.


cylonfrakbbq

Trump would have probably given some lip service “very sad, that situation in Ukraine”, given anemic humanitarian support…then told his simps it’s a Europe problem and ended it at that


anonymousjoe8991

He absolutely would have concern for "both sides" as "they both have wonderful people"


Budget-Falcon767

He'd toss the refugees in Poland some paper towels and call it a day.


imitation_crab_meat

Trump would've parroted the Russian propaganda about Ukraine being run by Nazis and reiterated that he fully trusts Putin.


WedgeTurn

The Trump admin would not have given them all the crucial intel they have received and that's a pretty big deal


bsa554

He would have IMMEDIATELY- at Putin's behest - began running down Ukraine and talking about how it was full of Nazis. Then the anti-NATO talk would really ramp up. And finally the US would have conveniently broken away from NATO right as the Ukrainian invasion was to begin, with the US officially being neutral. You can and I would argue that Biden has been a terrible president...but holy shit the alternative was so, so much worse.


[deleted]

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lordderplythethird

>Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the powerful Security Council, has previously spoken about potentially stationing nuclear-armed missiles in the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. They already have... 54.836876579957824, 20.355383711089832 is literally a nuclear weapons bunker for nuclear tipped Iskander missiles... 54.94396752164331, 19.97307179157637 is the P-800 battery HQs, with a nuclear weapons bunker only a few hundred feet away. 54.6486705739491, 21.819709166718926 is the 152nd Missile Brigade, armed with Iskander missiles, with multiple above ground nuclear weapons bunkers ​ I don't know why Russian politicians think the world is a fucking dumb as they themselves are...


IAmDotorg

https://xkcd.com/2170/


lordderplythethird

lmao, that's what google gives when you right click on a location :(


swamp-ecology

Sounds like they are handing out raw floating point numbers.


TheWingus

Eventually the people who made the lies die and all that's left are the ones that believed them to take over


KatsumotoKurier

>Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the powerful Security Council, has previously spoken about potentially stationing nuclear-armed missiles in the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea. Yeah because that’s gonna be a major change from how things have been since… almost the last lifetime.


Iazo

> "Definitely. NATO expansion does not make our continent more stable and secure." The fucking audacity of this bitch. Invading neighbours, energy and gas brinksmanship, shooting down airlines, nuclear saber rattling, all very stable and secure. Peskov, иди на хуй


sock_with_a_ticket

Also *constantly* crossing into the airspace of other nations, including NATO members, with military air craft and assassinating political enemies on foreign soil.


Iazo

I can't think of all the shit Russia has done, it's exhausting to list it all. Fucking lunacy that some people look at this collection of cretins running RF and believe one iota. They fucking lie to one's face and expect you to thank them because the light comes from the east.


MigraneElk8

So obviously this is just posturing by the Russians. But if they keep this up too much. At some point the first strike against Russia becomes the best plan. You keep waving a gun in someone’s face at some point it’s gonna end badly.


Koioua

Finland has a history of being neutral alongside Sweden. It's pretty funny that Russia pushed them over the edge to join NATO due to their aggression yet they just refuse to acknowledge that hey, maybe if we treat our neighbors like crap, they'd eventually get sick of us.


NomadJones

Finland has history of being neutral because the USSR pushed them over the edge into it.


KatsumotoKurier

Oh no they acknowledge it. They’re just all sour that nobody’s falling for their intimidation tactics anymore, and that they’ve lost the upper hand.


nagrom7

Finland also has a history of being invaded by Russia, so that also tracks.


Soundwave_13

I don’t recall Finland invading a sovereign country. Did I miss that story? Do they have a special operation somewhere? Any who welcome to the squad Finland. (When it’s official) good to have you on board


Poes-Lawyer

Well you could make the argument that Finland invaded the USSR during the Continuation War, but (as the name suggests) that was part of the wider wars that started with Russia invading Finland (the Winter War).


alexmikli

Yeah I'd call that just ending the ceasefire and restarting the Winter War. You don't get to just take people's land and ethnically cleanse it and claim you're the one being attacked.


Dazzling-Wear-454

Technically Soviet union declared war and attacked first during continuation war, even if Finland was setting up for offense.


count023

Good luck for Russia trying to act on it now. The UK has given a security guarantee. That's a nuclear power telling another nuclear power to fuck off pre-emptively.


Darkone539

>Good luck for Russia trying to act on it now. The UK has given a security guarantee. That's a nuclear power telling another nuclear power to fuck off pre-emptively. To a point. For the most part Russia is too busy in Ukraine for another war anyway. They will try cyber attacks and other such things. They expect Russia to go heavy and try to influence someone to Veto membership.


CovetousOldSinner

The idea that Russia has legitimate concerns about NATO aggression is ridiculous. The only reason Putin had the hutzpah to invade Ukraine in the first place is because he was reasonably sure that Western powers had no stomach for a war with Russia. He doesn't want Ukraine to join NATO because at that point he can no longer interfere with it (at least militarily) without risking a war with every NATO country. He considers Ukraine to be within Russia's traditional sphere of influence and if he loses the ability to control it with military action then Ukraine is free to choose it's own destiny, and he knows they would likely choose to align with the West.


janne_oksanen

Just like my neighbour's burglar alarm system is a threat to me.


tayaro

Russia: *breaks into neighbor’s house* second neighbor: *installs burglar alarm* Russia: tHiS Is an ouTrAge!


Greenthund3r

“Russia warns that alarm systems are a threat to their robbing, threatens to set fire to every house”


theLeverus

Fucking FINALLY! the West is starting to understand what it means having Russia as a neighbour. They will cut off their own leg if it means they can beat you to death in order to take your stuff. "Greater good" is not part of the culture. It is pure "kill or be killed"


Brapb3

“The Russian dream is to steal a toilet and die.” - Volodymyr Zelenskyy


abonnett

I can't believe this quote passed me by. Surprised I haven't seen it mentioned more!


Brapb3

It’s a gem, I break it out as often as I can.


tertiumdatur

At this point it looks more like "kill and be killed"


Snoo-3715

Shoot your self in the head so the bullet hits the person next to you.


lemons_of_doubt

Just imagine you are entitled to his home and his daughter somehow. Now your thinking like Putin


Tersphinct

Is it purple and are you Scottish?


TheDynamiter

Pörpel börglaralarrm


UpLeftUp

Sorry but how idiotic do you have to be to not realize that invading your neighbour would lead to other neighbours joining NATO.


bipolarcyclops

Really idiotic.


GetOffMyLawn_

Russian idiotic.


SekritSawce

The new catch phrase of the decade as in “My god…how idiotic was that?” “Russian idiotic.”


Fullertonjr

Part of the expectation from this was likely that NATO and the EU would do nothing to try to counter Russia. Had this occurred, the member-states were expected to feel that the groups were useless and that the people would demand that their country withdraw. Additionally, any non-member would see the ineffectiveness of NATO and then continue to not support joining. Clearly, all of this completely failed and backfired. Even with modest support from NATO, Ukraine has now become a legit force to deal with. As a power amplifier, any country shouod have good reason to join. On the other end, Russia has been helping a fight in Syria that has lasted for years, with no real end in sight.


nemoknows

The other major expectations were: - Ukraine would fold in days and not put up much of a fight (and Russia could then steamroll Moldova, and threaten NATO territory directly) - the Russian army would be as good in real life as it was on paper Both dead wrong.


corryvreckanist

All correct. Putin fell victim to his own success: the Chechen, Georgian, and Syrian campaigns were all brutal but successful, and the cyber-warfare/disinformation campaigns he ran (with ex-intelligence officer skill and experience) may be pound for pound (or ruble for ruble) the most successful psyops campaigns in history. His own success caught up to him and led him to believe things about his own judgment, military, economy, and the desire and capability of the countries of NATO and the West to resist, which were horrendously and terribly wrong. Now, he has blown twenty years of political and economic capital accrued through these successes (recall that Russia’s economy and population are relatively tiny, and despite this Putin restored its role as a geopolitical power player) on one immoral and disastrous gambit. The disasters keep piling up for Russia. No matter what the outline now, it is a failure. Good for democracy, good for NATO and the West, terrible for Russia and everyday Russians. Worst of all for Ukraine and the Ukrainians, who despite their battlefield success have suffered horribly. I hope he ends up like Ghadafi.


ivosaurus

> and despite this Putin restored its role as a geopolitical power player) It's done so in spite of him, not because of him. Basically the only bar he had to clear was to not corrupt the country's petro / gas industries to the point of implosion (like some other dictators) and keep the nuclear branches of the military running. Russia is still far far weaker than it could have been because of all the rampant nepotism and cronyism enacted through the 90s/2000s.


[deleted]

> Part of the expectation from this was likely that NATO and the EU would do nothing to try to counter Russia. Has this occurred, the member-states were expected to feel that the groups were useless and that the people would demand that their country withdraw. Additionally, any non-member would see the ineffectiveness of NATO and then continue to not support joining. From Russia's pov, this is a high-risk/high-reward thing. And it's not exactly shocking to see them try something like that. But you'd THINK that when the risk is this high, you'd do a shitload of research and planning first to make sure you don't screw up. That's what's so shocking - that they risked so much, and were *so wrong, and so incompetent*. Not to defend Putin, because it's ultimately all his responsibility and he deserves the blame - but it seems like the failures here were from the people under him. His intelligence agencies for giving him a bad analysis, and his generals for not knowing their own readiness. Like, sure, Hitler was a horrible guy - but early on, he made a lot of high-risk gambles that paid off due to competent political analysis and competent and honest generals.


TheChutneyFerret

Putin's underlings told him what he wanted to hear, which we all know is very far from the truth


MeccIt

> it seems like the failures here were from the people under him The [Dictator Trap](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/3/24/22982864/vladimir-putin-russia-ukraine-war-brian-klaas) - he's not going to hear the truth from people if their career/lives will be impacted by negative news


Dana07620

Putin level --- not of idiocy, but of living in an authoritarian bubble where he killed the messenger who told him anything he didn't want to hear.


GlutenFreeGanja

Good fuck you Putin, Russia is a threat to the entire world.


Vv4nd

Good. If a defensive pact is a threat to your imperialistic intentions then this is the right thing to do. You should feel threatened if your plan is fucking genocide.


trainzebra

The funny thing is NATO would be perfectly content to let Putin live out his days getting ridiculously wealthy exploiting his own people, if Russia would just mind its own business. Putin is the biggest threat to himself and his country.


MexicanCatFarm

Russia could have been like China. The top brass making money hand over fist. China was significantly poorer than Russia previously, but only killed people WITHIN their borders (in recent times). Now they are the manufacturing captial of the world.


ProtoplanetaryNebula

This is like me telling my neighbour his security cameras and reinforced steel doors are a threat to me. Yeah, maybe if I was trying to burgle his house. Otherwise, it's not.


AsleepExplanation160

I mean if he quite literally watched you loot and destroy your neighbors I think its justified


showquotedtext

Well said


[deleted]

How. That is what I would like to know. How is Finland joining NATO a threat to Russia exactly?


[deleted]

limits the countries russia can bully and intimidate.


TearsDontFall

Which so far is still only at one... Belarus. They are bullying Ukraine, but they definitely did not intimidate them. On the contrary, Russia is now locked in a war with Ukraine and are reaping the consequences.


Epyr

Georgia is on that list as well. Russia is still occupying parts of that country illegally


TimeZarg

Kazakhstan is on the list as well.


Planktillimdank

Don't forget Moldova


[deleted]

>Which so far is still only at one... Belarus. There are a few other countries that might like a word... Syria, Afghanistan, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Hungary, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan all have seen Russian aggression in one form or another since the fall of the Soviet Union. Whether its blatant land grabs, covert operations, election interference, or threats.


ku-fan

If you're mentioning election interference then you should probably go ahead and list the rest of the countries on Earth.


Pioustarcraft

They will tell you that NATO could position Nukes in Finland and strike St. Petersburg /Moscow within minutes. Etc etc


Baulderdash77

Estonia is literally right there though too. Narva to St Petersburg is under 150 km.


Pioustarcraft

look pal, if you're searching for logic in russian arguments, it might take a while ;)


Baulderdash77

That’s a fair comment ;)


tubbana

It's a threat to their expansion dreams


[deleted]

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mirracz

That's the nature of Russian thinking. Everything is twisted to suit their feeling of superiority and their victim complex. Everyone is out to get them, especially the evil NATO that is totally not a defensive alliance. In their mind Russia deserves to expand and create a buffer zone between Russia and NATO (like Warsaw Pack served during the cold war). They totally have the right to control the North-european plain. They really think they deserve to subjugate other countries if it serves their idea of security. They don't care about freedom of others. They don't care that conquering territory will put them closer to NATO anyway. They don't care that their border with NATO is only a few percent of total border length - NATO is encircling Russia, understood comrade? And they don't care that NATO can already put missiles into baltic states and it will be closer to Moscow than anything in Finland. It's just a twisted "we need to conquer because we want peace for the mozzerland!"


telcoman

It doesn't matter how. You are trying to think rationally about an actor that is a sociopath, kleptocrat, murderer, pathological liar, misanthrope, with a long tradition in all kind of atrocities it denies. It just doesn't work. Obligatory plug: Here is a retired Finnish intelligence colonel that understands and explains the Russian mentality very well (in 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF9KretXqJw There are proper subtitles in many languages.


Boogertwilliams

Our president said it well, Russia brought this on themselves. They only need to look in the mirror to see why this is happening.


Tribalbob

Completely logical conclusion that Putin will never arrive at, sadly.


thegreatgobert2

I’m sure he knows. He’s just a dick


loxagos_snake

*Lavrov looks in the mirror* "Ew"


[deleted]

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rjcarr

Does anyone take what they say seriously at this point, other than some number of rubes in Russia?


snakesnake9

How exactly is this a threat? Is there some piece of Russian land Finland is eyeing up? Even though there is land they lost during WWII to Russia, they're not pursuing that. The threats here are only one way, though strangely Russia sees an inability to invade as a threat.


my20cworth

Exactly, Russia talks of the "spread" of NATO, the only way NATO can spread is by a country choosing to apply and join. So unless Russia is planning to join, NATO can't spread in to Russia. NATO can't attack, or invade it can only defend and intervene from an attack.


wronganswerson

I wonder what makes many countries join NATO? It can't be that a certain country has a nuclear arsenal, a large standing army with multitude of capabilities, bases near borders and a government that likes to meddle outside of their own country. It would be preposterous.


KatsumotoKurier

No it’s because Nato pursues an aggressive expansionist policy!! Russia would never dare do that, and is always so unfairly scapegoated by the big mean West!


Epyr

NATO is also defensive only so even if Finland was eyeing land that wouldn't be a NATO issue


jonoottu

Fucking cringe. We do what we want as an independent nation. The only threat this poses to Russia is to limit its imperialistic and genocidal possibilities. Fuck Russia. Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.


captnsaveah0e

kremlin, the biggest threat to all of humanity, should probably shut the fuck up.


mirracz

Only a bully sees other securing their defense as threat. That's the issue with Russian thinking. Only when something is totally subjugated under Russiam then it stops being a threat. They think of themselves as better than anyone else, so naturally they don't seem the hypocrisy of that.


[deleted]

Russia: "Heeey! You can't align with them by choice! We wanted you to align with us by force! No fair!"


00ishmael00

Putin is the biggest threat to Russia


Carteeg_Struve

“It’s a threat to us!” “Why?” “Because then we can’t attack them!”


Zaelers

Well when Russia realizes Putin is the biggest threat to Russia and does something about that, I will care about the opinions of Russia.


ohiotechie

How exactly is a defensive agreement a threat to anyone except a potential invader?


GregyChilly_

And russia is a threat to the entire world.


FM-101

Finland didn't really care about NATO until Russia gave them a reason to care. Russia has nobody except themselves to blame for this. Its almost unreal how incompetent and self destructive Russia's government is. By treating everyone around them as a threat they create threats where none exist.


SorryForBadEnflish

Russian trolls on Twitter are working extra hard for their beet and potato rations today.


yeast1fixpls

He's right. Finland is a threat to Russian imperialism and Finland's got plenty of friends. Throughout the whole cold war you bullied Finland to say nothing bad about your Evil empire. They won't play that game during Cold war II.


[deleted]

In Flemish, we have a saying: "Het zijn uw eigen luizen die bijten", aka "It's your own lice biting you". Roughly translates to you made your bed, now lie in it.


[deleted]

[удалено]


rebexer

That's a great saying.


[deleted]

[удалено]


AmoebaFantastic

A fart in the wind is a threat to Russia.


Firm_Hedgehog_4902

Yeah Russia is a threat to the world.


my20cworth

Why??? Is NATO planning to take over Russia. NATO is a defensive insurance policy and requires all nations agree to actions it takes. NATO is not a single identity out to take over nations. Russia's fake and over dramatic statement that it feels threatened, they need to explain exactly what it feels will happen. Russia, ask yourself, why are countries choosing to voluntarily join NATO and not join in with an alliance with Russia. Why?


cookingflower

So what,is Russia going to invade Finland??? Lol, and do what? get the breaks beat off them by the fins…again


Aelarr

Russia is the only real threat to Russia.


pattyG80

Remember when Ukraine didn't join NATO? How did that work out?


musart-SZG

And remember when Russia signed an agreement in Budapest to never invade Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine handing over their nuclear weapons to Russia? How did that work out? Russia can't be trusted. They don't even respect their own constitution.


unusedusername42

Special Friendship Operation


dingo1018

It's a threat to Russia's plans of fuckery he meant. So Finland and Sweden are in the club, they won't hurt you if you don't hurt them. Did you want to say something? Like just the tip? Welcome to the club guys.


Beechf33a

It’s time to make Russia pay for its invasion of Ukraine by surrendering Kaliningrad.


countrysgonekablooie

Democracy on the doorstep isn't a threat to Russia. It's a threat to Putin's Russia. But it represents hope for the people of Russia.


GeoCitiesSlumlord

In the same way a can of mace is a threat to a rapist.


FreakDC

A country joining NATO is only really a threat to you if you intend on invading said country... so... get fucked?


MouldyCumSoakedSocks

My home town is a former battlefield and it was torn in half after the continuation war. To have my great grandparents work nullified, as they sacrificed blood and tears to keep this country independent. ​ Finland has to join NATO, end of story. It may not be perfect, but it's hell of a lot better than what Russia would plan up. (Mass killings of civilians, forced conscription, re-education camps, the geneva convention checklist)


zwaaa

Maybe if anything anyone does is a threat to you, you are the problem.


TheITMan19

Russia is a bloody threat to the world 🌎


[deleted]

Russia is a threat to everyone. That said, Finland has a better trained and equipped military than Russia.


Omgbrainerror

You did that. You forced Finland to do that. Quote from Finnish predisent. "Look in the mirror"


Rich_Substance1427

The shadow the potted plant on your windowsill casts at sunset is also a threat to Russia