21-05-2025
NATO Shows Force on Northern Flank with Russia as US Pulls Back
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Just a touch above the lower boundary of the Arctic Circle, the snow sticks to the shoulders of the troops standing by howitzers for just a few moments before it melts away.
The temperatures for late May, even this far north, have plummeted, making the inhospitable terrain of northern Finland even tougher for the Finnish, Swedish and British soldiers halfway through joint live-fire exercises, dubbed Northern Strike 125, in Europe's largest training ground, Rovajärvi.
Over 6,000 soldiers—mostly Finns—are practicing roughly 70 miles west of the Russian border, working out how the three NATO states could use their artillery and drones in a real-life war before the next round of field drills kicks off at Rovajärvi next week.
British soldiers have been experimenting with drones for reconnaissance, Finnish conscripts have been training up on small howitzers, and Swedish troops have shown Scandi solidarity with their longer-range artillery systems.
"This is a really obvious demonstration of how NATO capability can come to Finland," said Brigadier Nick English, the commander of the British Army's 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team.
"You can't ignore the fact that there's a land war in Ukraine at the moment, and part of the role of NATO is in deterrence," he told Newsweek. "In order to deter, you've got to be visible."
Finland and neighboring Sweden are NATO's newest members, pushing away from a decades-held policy of non-alignment to join the alliance shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago. Helsinki and Stockholm have been staunch supporters of Kyiv, and their steps into the alliance's embrace enraged Russia.
Finland in particular has a fraught history with Russia, sharing more than 800 miles of land border with Moscow and holding on to memories of being part of the Russian Empire in the 19th century.
An Archer 155mm self-propelled artillery system firing during NATO exercise Northern Strike 125 in Rovajärvi, northern Finland, in May 2025.
An Archer 155mm self-propelled artillery system firing during NATO exercise Northern Strike 125 in Rovajärvi, northern Finland, in May 2025.
Finnish Defence Forces
But the U.S., which has long propped up other members of NATO with an extensive presence in Europe and by providing some of the most expensive capabilities, is now an unpredictable variable.
President Donald Trump and his inner circle have been clear in their desire to pull Washington away from its role as the alliance's spine, swiveling towards domestic issues and to the Indo-Pacific.
Less clear are which capabilities Washington plans on withdrawing from Europe, and what the continent will have to urgently replace, a central European official involved in defense planning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Newsweek earlier this month.
All eyes are on the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague next month, officials hoping for a glint of clarity on how the U.S. wants to remould its relations with Europe.
"Nothing has been determined," Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. ambassador to the alliance, said last week. Talks will come after the late June conference, Whitaker said.
Soldiers in northern Finland say the U.S. was neither involved in these live-fire drills nor provided any capability to support the exercises. They say an American absence had nothing to do with the current political climate but stressed U.S. soldiers have been training alongside other NATO forces in recent months.
Finnish conscripts stand by a Soviet-era D-30 howitzer at Rovajärvi training area, northern Finland, on May 21, 2025.
Finnish conscripts stand by a Soviet-era D-30 howitzer at Rovajärvi training area, northern Finland, on May 21, 2025.
Ellie Cook
While the Kremlin's land forces are bogged down in the vicious frontline fighting in Ukraine, recent satellite imagery has indicated Russia is building out its bases close to the Finnish border. The construction appears to be part of a longer-looking effort to expand Russian military facilities in spitting distance of NATO, The New York Times reported earlier this week.
Officials in NATO countries forming the alliance's easternmost flank have long speculated that if a ceasefire deal brings an end to the war in Ukraine, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers deployed to battle Ukrainian defenses could wind up close to NATO territory.
The Russian military "will have a lot of free force, which will be probably brought to our neighborhood," Estonia's defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, told Newsweek back in November. Estonia sits just south of Finland.
Helsinki started construction on a fence running along more than 120 miles of border with Russia in February 2023. Work is expected to take up to four years, according to the Finnish border guard.
Swedish soldiers stand by a Swedish-made Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzer in Rovajärvi, northern Finland, on May 21, 2025.
Swedish soldiers stand by a Swedish-made Archer 155mm self-propelled howitzer in Rovajärvi, northern Finland, on May 21, 2025.
Ellie Cook
Soldiers milling around the exercises said the Finns, more than the Brits or even the Swedes, felt Russia breathing down their necks.
"The whole world is worried," one soldier remarked while standing next to a 155mm Archer howitzer, capable of firing at targets about 50 kilometers away.
Yet another commented: "You can't think about it all the time, because then you'll be exhausted."
Some say they are more than accustomed to the threat Moscow poses in the north. Russia has "been always there," said Lieutenant Colonel Kimmo Ruotsalainen, the commander of an artillery regiment in Finland's Kainuu Brigade, which led the drills.
"The Finns are used to living next door to Russia, so everything is focused on how they're going to defend Finland from Russia," English said.
Finland dedicated less than 1.5 percent of its GDP to the military five years ago. Last month, the government in Helsinki announced Finland would funnel at least 3 percent into defense within the next four years.
"By this decision we will answer to the current security situation in Europe and the military threat posed by Russia," the country's defense minister, Antti Häkkänen, said in a statement at the time.
