Russia has reportedly moved missiles capable of firing nuclear warheads near its border with Finland amid heightened threats over the latter’s bid to join NATO.
A fleet of more than a dozen military vehicles is moving on the highway – including seven believed to be carrying Iskander missiles, according to a video shared by Reuters on Monday.
They were taken to Vyborg, a Russian city on the Finnish border, “as soon as the Finnish president said he was joining NATO,” said the unidentified narrator of the video.
Iskanders with nuclear capabilities were filmed on May 16 on the way to Vyborg, near Russia’s border with Finland. VHCK-OGPU / east2west
“It seems that a new military unit is about to be formed in Viborg or the region,” he said.
It is now believed that short-range ballistic missiles have been widely used by Russia – and are known to be ready to launch nuclear warheads, officials told Newsweek earlier.
A senior US Air Force officer working on nuclear weapons told the publication that the intelligence community sees Iskander as the most serious threat.
Vladimir Putin chaired a teleconference meeting on May 17. EPA
The video came days after one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles if Finland joined the US-led military alliance.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said accession would put an end to the “nuclear-free status of the Baltic Sea”.
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