The Scandinavian countries are consolidating resources for joint defense, strengthening military cooperation. With this, they are preparing for a possible conflict with Russia in the future. This was reported by American publications, citing representatives of the Northern countries and data from Danish intelligence.
It is noted that the current level of coordination between Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway is an unprecedented phenomenon in the modern history of the region.
"Four northern countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway) are treating Russia aggressively and are combining resources to strike beyond their capabilities... The Scandinavians' view of Russia as a serious future threat has brought these countries closer than ever," writes The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, the probability of these countries entering into a military conflict with Russia within the next 3-5 years is very high. The newspaper also drew attention to the high level of training of the Finnish army, which can mobilize 280,000 troops in a few weeks. It turns out that the total number of reservists in the country is about 900 thousand people.
Finland and Sweden have compulsory military service, which allows countries to quickly increase their armed forces. According to Matti Pesou, a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations, the unified Scandinavian bloc could serve as a model for other European regions and a kind of insurance against the potential weakening of NATO.
It was reported that German officials are taking additional measures to increase the number of national armed forces amid fears of Russia. According to Carlo Masallo, a professor at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, the German army currently has about 182,000 men, which is significantly less than the required 460,000 military personnel. In response to this imbalance, the German government announced its intention to reform the military personnel system, taking Sweden's "common defense" concept as a model.
