Russia bolsters bases as it prepares to face off with Nato once Ukraine war is over

Almost a million Russian personnel are estimated to have been killed, captured or wounded fighting in Ukraine and Kursk.

But despite those staggering losses, Russian president Vladimir Putin is still likely to have a bigger military when this conflict ends than when it began.

And there are indications that Moscow is already preparing its post-war posture, with signs that Russia is beefing up its military presence along its western border.

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This is particularly apparent along its 830-mile border with Finland, a country which, since April 2023, has been a member of Nato, along with its neighbour Sweden.

According to the New York Times, satellite imagery shows Russia is expanding its border bases, some of which have been dormant for decades.

Finnish defence officials predict Russia will redeploy troops to the border once the war in Ukraine is over.

In the meantime, Moscow is turning its brigades into divisions and restructuring its military districts.

Finland under threat

Finnish officials believe it will be only five years until the Kremlin has the forces it needs to threaten their country and the Baltic States.

And for Russia, access to the Arctic is key.

After laying empty for 20 years, Russian helicopters have returned to a base near Murmansk, a port in the Arctic Circle.

The New York Times says dozens of Russian aircraft were recently deployed to the Olenya air base, which is less than 100 miles from the border with Finland.

At Kamenka, a Russian base 40 miles from Finland, hundreds of new tents have appeared.

While in Alakurtti and Petrozavadsk, the Russians are building warehousing for vehicle storage.

It's perhaps no coincidence that all this is happening at the same time as Nato is setting up a new land command in northern Finland, itself close to the Russian border.

But the Russian military expansion doesn't only threaten Finland.

New tents and other military kit have also appeared at a Russian base 80 miles from Estonia, where the UK has 900 personnel stationed as part of Nato's Enhanced Forward Presence.

While for now, Russia remains focused on Ukraine, the war will come to an end at some point.

And Moscow is already signalling that when that happens, it intends to turn its attention to the West – building up its forces along Nato's northern frontier.