Russian inspection follows NATO visit in Finnish Lapland

The team of Russian military representatives will arrive on 8th December to conduct an inspection of the Lapland Air Command. The three-person delegation is headed by Major Aleksandr Poleshchuk, the Finnish Defence Command informs in a press release.

The visit is in accordance with a bilateral agreement on additional annual evaluation visits between the countries. It is hosted by Commander of Lapland Air Command, Colonel Jukka Ahlberg.

The purpose of the evaluation is to evaluate the accuracy of the provided annual information regarding the main armament and equipment of the Lapland Air Command, the press release reads.

The Russian inspection comes just ten days after the departure of  Deputy Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee, Lieutenant General Mark O. Schissler.

As previously reported, Schissler during the visit attended a live firing exercise where 3,000 Finnish soldiers participated.

“Finland is a highly capable and very committed partner who provides NATO with additional military expertise in its operations and missions, but also useful regional security insight,” said Lt Gen said in a press-note.