The Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev directly threatened Finland, stating in an article for the TASS agency on September 8 that “the main thing“ that Finland should not “forget“ is that confrontation with Russia “could lead to the collapse of Finnish statehood forever“.
This is written by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports News.bg.
Medvedev claims that Finland is historically tied to Nazi Germany and that the Finnish authorities in the 1940s wanted to expand the borders to include areas in modern Russia. He points out that the current Finnish government is “Russophobic“ and that “the thirst for victory at the expense of Russia was instilled in the minds of Finns even during Hitler“.
The Finnish authorities have historically tried to erase the “historical and cultural identity“ of ethnic Russians and to commit genocide against the Slavic population. Medvedev claims that Finland joined NATO under the “pretext” of defense, but is actually preparing for war against Russia – ignoring the fact that Finland abandoned its long-standing military neutrality to join the Alliance in direct response to the war in neighboring Ukraine in 2022.
Medvedev's claims parallel those the Kremlin used to justify its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and 2022.
Expanding Russia's Military-Industrial Base
Russia continues to expand its defense-industrial base (DIB) to protect enterprises from strikes at long Ukrainian ranges. The deputy head of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR), Major General Vadim Skibitsky, announced on September 7 that Russia plans to produce 2,500 high-precision missiles, including cruise and ballistic missiles “Iskander“ and Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles in 2025.
Skibitsky noted that the GUR has observed a significant increase in the production of Russian drones - especially the Geran (an analogue of the Iranian Shahed), the Harpy (a variant of the Shahed with Chinese components) and drones with first-person view (FPV). Ukrainian military intelligence claims that the Russian army has a rearmament plan for the period 2026-2037.
He specified that most of the "powerful" Russian defense enterprises are located 750 km or more from the Ukrainian border and that only 25% are within a range of 250 to 500 km. Although there is no sign of Russia relocating factories, the new plants are being built 1,500–2,000 km from the Ukrainian border.
Skibitsky said that Russia has diversified its production so that over 100 enterprises can be involved in the production of one type of weapon. This is an attempt to protect the OIPB from Ukrainian strikes and to prevent the disruption of the entire production process.
Denouncing international convention against torture
The Kremlin seems ready to institutionalize its long-standing practice of torturing Ukrainian civilian prisoners and prisoners of war. On September 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma a bill to denounce the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The convention provides for international inspections of detention centers and prisons.
The explanatory note to the bill cites Russia's lack of representation in the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture since 2023 as the reason for the denunciation.