The NATO Forward Land Forces Finland has been established on June 6, 2026, in Boden, Finland. General Markus Laubenthal, SHAPE Chief of Staff, assumed Command of the Swedish Regiment in presence of the Swedish Minister of Defence Pål Jonson. The FLF Finland will be the 9th FLF in SACEURs AoR. NATO Photo by OR-7 Dennis Sattler
Finland Repeals Ban On Hosting Nuclear Weapons On Its Territory
By Eurasia Review and Sentry
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Finland has overturned a Cold War-era total ban on nuclear weapons, saying the action will strengthen its security and that of NATO. Until the June 2026 action, Finland could not host nuclear weapons — either as a deterrent or to support the Alliance in times of emergency, according to a New York Times newspaper report.
The measure, which passed by a vote of 125-61, clears the way for Finland to receive, transport and facilitate the movement of nuclear weapons on its territory as part of allied operations to defend the country or NATO, according to Politico Europe. Finnish officials said the decades-old restriction no longer fits the country’s new role as part of NATO. “We are aligning our legislation with that of our closest NATO Allies,” Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said on social media, according to The New York Times. Hakkanen insisted that Helsinki has no plans to permanently station nuclear weapons on its territory, Politico Europe reported.
“The nuclear deterrence is, in the end, the guarantor of peace in Europe. It’s the ultimate deterrence against the Russian aggression,” said Heikki Autto, chairperson of the defense committee in Finland’s Parliament, according to The New York Times. The committee has also proposed that Finland almost double its annual defense budget — from 7.7 billion euros to more than 14 billion — by 2029.
Finland joined NATO in 2023 in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Now, like its fellow NATO members, Finland is rapidly expanding its military spending in light of Russia’s actions and the United States’ calls for Alliance members to shoulder more responsibility for European security. In May 2026, Finland dispatched fighter jets after a suspected drone entered airspace near Helsinki, Politico Europe reported. President Alexander Stubb later said Finland faced “no direct military threat,” while military officials said they had no advance warning of the incursion, according to Politico Europe. Recent satellite imagery showed that Moscow is building what military analysts called a “super garrison” capable of housing about 6,000 troops near Finland’s eastern border, according to the European news website Euractiv. Finland and Russia share a 1,340-kilometer border — the longest for Moscow with a NATO member.
It’s amid this backdrop that Finland rescinded the nuclear prohibition. “Before NATO membership, Finland’s nuclear policy was naturally focused on arms control,” Jyri Lavikainen, a nuclear deterrence expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, told The New York Times. “Now,” he said, “deterrence comes first.”
The change could lead to closer work with NATO, according to recent reports by Finland’s national broadcaster Yle. For example, Paris is expanding its nuclear arsenal and wants to deploy some of its nuclear-armed aircraft to allied countries. French President Emmanuel Macron described the plans in March 2026 as a “forward” nuclear deterrence scheme, The New York Times reported.
- This article was published by Sentry
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Eurasia Review is an independent international news and analysis platform founded in 2009. We publish timely news, in-depth analysis, and expert commentary on geopolitics, economics, security, and international affairs.
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