Europe Fears Russian Military Moves on Eastern Border

While the world is preoccupied with Ukraine, European leaders are growing increasingly fearful of what the Russian Army has been doing along other eastern stretches of the Continent’s border, the Wall Street Journal reported on April 27.

Border threats: Just 100 miles east of Russia’s border with Finland, military engineers are expanding army bases intended to become a new army headquarters overseeing tens of thousands of troops in the next few years.

• The Kremlin is also increasing weapons production, expanding military recruitment, and upgrading railways in these border regions, the report says.
• Western officials say this is part of the Russian military preparing for potential conflict with nato.
• Finland, which joined nato in 2023, is now fortifying its border with electronic defense and barbed-wire fences in response.
• Nearby nato members Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are working on a joint project called the Baltic Defense Line to fortify their borders as well.

Arms buildup: Russia increased military spending to more than 6 percent of its gross domestic product this year from 3.6 percent before the war. Europe fears much of this will be used for future wars rather than the current one in Ukraine.

• The Kremlin is now producing almost 300 tanks a year, up from approximately 40 in 2021 before the war. A Finnish military official warned that almost none of the tanks are being sent to the front lines in Ukraine, but are being kept on Russian soil for later use.
• Production of artillery cannons and munitions is expected to rise by about 20 percent this year.

The Russian military is reconstituting and growing at a faster rate than most analysts had anticipated. In fact, the Russian Army, which has borne the brunt of combat, is today larger than it was at the beginning of the war.
—Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of United States forces in Europe

Coming war? The Danish intelligence agency warned in February that Russia could launch a large-scale war in Europe within five years if it considered nato to be weak. It could start testing the alliance by attacking a small nation such as Estonia, one intelligence official said.

Watch Europe: Bible prophecy reveals Russia will not be the first power that Europe will war with directly. However, Russian aggression will be a major driver behind the prophesied militarization and unification of Europe.

Read “Russia’s War on Ukraine Is Reshaping Europe” to learn more.