The head of Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST), Thomas Nilsson, says that Russia is planning to expand its military presence on NATO's northeastern flank, stretching 'from northern Finland all the way down'. Nilsson's comments are reported by Kyiv Independent, based on an interview with Bloomberg.
Russia is not yet implementing its plan in full because it prioritizes its war of aggression in Ukraine, but Sweden expects Russia to carry it out once the country has sufficient resources and military capacity.
Swedish SVT reported in early June on satellite images showing that Russia has been building new military facilities throughout the winter in several locations on the other side of the Finnish border.
'We do not believe they exist just for show. It is about the ability to confront NATO in a large-scale conflict in the future,' Nilsson said to SVT at the time.
Russia has repeatedly criticized Finland and Sweden's decision to join the NATO military alliance.
Nilsson tells Bloomberg that Russia will likely remain a security threat even after President Vladimir Putin steps down from power.
Nilsson described the confrontation between Moscow and the West as 'deep, structural and enduring'.
'We do not consider this crisis temporary; Russia has chosen its path, and there is no return,' Nilsson said.
He also said that Sweden has seen no signs that Russia's political system or Putin's grip on power is under immediate threat.
'The political opposition has been virtually eliminated – they are in exile, in prison, or in the worst case, assassinated.'
