Finland can draft 280 thousand people in the event of war with Russia

22 September, 2024 Finnish conscripts. February 2024. Finland.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of Finland Finland can deploy an army of more than 280,000 people to defend the country in the event of a war with Russia. President Alexander Stubb stated this in an interview with the German TV channel Welt.

"If war breaks out, we can immediately call up 280,000 people for service," Stubb said. The President also argued that the Finnish Air Force, Navy, and Army are among the strongest in NATO. Stubb added that since the Middle Ages, the Finnish people had fought about 30 smaller or larger wars with Russia.

Alexander Stubb.

Photo credits: Welt

"Our security policy is based on realism. Since we did not join NATO after the end of the Cold War, we decided to maintain a strong army. Military service was part of this policy," the President said.

Stubb emphasized that, like Poland, Finland has a "high level" of troops, 9,000 trained, professional military personnel, and hundreds of thousands of citizens who can be mobilized. "Finland is safer now than it has been for decades. There are several reasons for this: firstly, our armed forces, and also the fact that we are part of the largest military and defense alliance in the world, NATO," Stubb said.

The Finnish President also assured that he "does not see diplomatic relations with Russia in the near future." In April 2023, Finland became the 31st member of NATO. Finland is subject to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Charter.

Illustrative photo with the flag of Finland and NATO

The principle of this article and NATO's collective defense is central to the Alliance's founding treaty.

It is still the exclusive and inviolable principle that unites all members of the organization, obliging them to protect each other and creating a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.