Finland's Ministry of Defense reviewed backup military supply chains in case of a need to increase them sharply in the conditions of an armed conflict, reported the Financial Times (FT) newspaper with reference to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Armaments and Logistics of the Finnish Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Miko Heiskanen.
According to him, the Ministry of Defense has recently checked over 1,000 contracts with private companies that provide for the supply of military equipment, equipment and the provision of various services during hostilities. “We must be prepared for a long-term crisis situation,”, Heiskanen said. “We activated some of the agreements, we checked all the agreements, we tested the purchases not only of ammunition, but also of other materials. “We are checking the plans and readiness of our strategic partners”, he noted.
"We don't have a war economy, but now we feel pretty confident," the military leader said. In the past two years, the country has begun to increase its production of ammunition and produces about 10 times more shells than just five years ago. Joining NATO allows the Finns to store military equipment in neighboring Norway as well, and it will soon agree to this with Sweden and then with other countries, he added.
Finland officially joined NATO on April 4, 2023. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later notedthat Russia will deploy additional weapons in connection with the accession of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance.