this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023
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[–] partial_accumen 118 points 11 months ago

"Why do they need this?" he [Putin] said.

Because the last country you said didn't need NATO is currently under 30% occupation by your military while the remaining 70% is being attacked daily by that same military of yours.

[–] [email protected] 97 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Yeah, but they won't have the problem of being invaded my russia.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 11 months ago

NATO really needs to step up their game when it comes to those "softer" attacks via misinformation and using refugees as a weapon though

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

"My russia"!? Hey guys, I think we found Putin's nick here.

[–] NounsAndWords 71 points 11 months ago (1 children)

"It's all fun and games until the trees start speaking Finnish."

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

I've heard this as, “It’s all fun and games until the snow starts speaking Finnish."

[–] [email protected] 59 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Finland got accelerated NATO membership because of Russia/Putin making a bunch of threats about them so i think they damn well did have problems before. Fucking creep.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Finnish opinion polls had NATO membership at less than 50 percent for decades, until the Ukraine war when it became far more popular. Putin has no one to blame but himself.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 11 months ago (2 children)

FAFO. Finland already has a reputation for knowing how to deal with stupid Russians.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

That's not really accurate, even if it's not entirely inaccurate.

The Winter War, like many Russian (Soviet) victories, was initially an exercise in bloodletting and embarrassment. The Stalinist purges lead the Red Army to be comically ill prepared for a winter invasion against a prepared Finnish defense (aided by Germany), but the war still ended with the Soviets gaining additional territory.

*This is NOT intended as a parallel for any current events, just commentary on some historical ones.

[–] Vikthor 39 points 11 months ago

You know which russian neighbour also didn't have any problems? Norway. And you know what? They have been a NATO founding member. Coincidence? I don't think so. The only one who is going to have a problem is vova.

[–] Kumabear 32 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I have absolute confidence that Finland will absolutely counter any aggressive actions all by themselves if they need to.

They have an absolutely staggering amount of artillery and you can be sure it’s all pre-sighted and ready to make any silly invasion attempts an absolute blood bath.

They also have a powerful and decentralised airforce, setup to operate from their highways and backwater air fields should the need arise.

Finland out of any nation in Europe would be the least of my worries about its ability to defend themselves, they have been gearing up and planning to defend against Russian aggression for generations, their people are motivated and I believe already armed with their service rifles after they complete their mandatory service period.

Add NATO membership into it and Russian threats are just laughable, dragging such a powerful and motivated foe into a war you are already struggling badly with would be incredibly stupid, not that that rules it out I guess.

[–] afraid_of_zombies 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Also they are a functional country. I really think that would make a huge difference. Fighting from your homeland under a government you voted for where things get done.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

The current government received less votes than the opposition but got the seats (somewhat like gerrymandering but not quite). Two of the four parties are very aligned with Putin's ideologies but they have to show an anti-Russia face after the mainland attack on Ukraine (during the Crimea invasion they voted against sanctions towards Russia)

[–] [email protected] 0 points 11 months ago

Also they are a functional country.

The new government is trying pretty hard to change that.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Preeetty sure a lot of Finns right now would love nothing more than Putin to give them an excuse to uh, expend their munition stockpiles in an Easterly direction.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

NCD has been sporting an Article 5 chub for a while

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Viborg will be returned!

[–] themeatbridge 25 points 11 months ago

Narrator: Finland had many problems with Putin before.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Finland's plan is to smash a bunch of Nokia 3310s with runes on them, in a hydraulic press with Hakita's blood, and Simo Hayah will pop out of the fucking ether with a Mosin. Be afraid Russia.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

For now it's just barking. But we'll have years of this bullshit if the Russians 'win' in Ukraine, especially if Trump wins and weakens NATO by even hinting at the US not coming to the defence of allies.

Even if Putin isn't dumb enough to actually invade the Baltics or Finland, the Russians will engage in an endless stream of provocations. Military exercises and buildups near the border, bomber runs that are aborted at the last moment, that kind of thing. The likelihood of a miscalculation or mistake will increase dramatically.

On the other hand, if the Ukrainians win, Russia will never be able to withdraw significant amounts of troops from the Ukrainian border. Ukraine is a large and highly educated country, with a battle hardened military, and with a long history of weapons making. Russia will effectively have been muzzled for the foreseeable future.

[–] mea_rah 3 points 11 months ago

the Russians will engage in an endless stream of provocations

🌍🧑‍🚀🔫🧑‍🚀

Always has been.

Brinkmanship is one of russian favorite pastimes.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

funny because they have already been doing that

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Finland isn't just another NATO member, either. It puts Russia in a hairy strategic position.

In a war directly against NATO, Russia would have had access to the Atlantic through the Baltic Sea by way of St Petersburg. Now, though, NATO controls much of the Baltic Sea, and St Petersburg is in easy striking distance from either Finland or Estonia. It's also easier to hit the big Russian naval base at Murmansk. NATO can basically bottle up Russia from having any access to the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

Not only that, but NATO has less to worry about for supplying Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Russia could have cut them off between the Kaliningrad exclave and their ally Belarus, but that's less viable now.

Putin knows all this, and has to calculate what it means for starting anything. He's boxed in and he knows it. Really shows how much he failed merely by invading Ukraine at all.