Russia today threatened its neighbour Finland if nuclear weapons are placed on its territory.

Moscow reacted with fury to the Nordic state – a NATO member – acting to lift the current total ban on atomic weapons.

The two countries share a long 830-mile border, roughly the distance in Britain from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned: “We have indeed seen this statement [from Finland], which leads to an escalation of tensions on the European continent.

“It is a statement that adds to Finland’s vulnerability, a vulnerability that has been provoked by the actions of the Finnish authorities.

“The fact is that by placing nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us.

“And if Finland threatens us, we will take appropriate measures.”

Russia currently has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, while Finland has no atomic weapons.

Helsinki president Alexander Stubb said that Finland was removing “legislative obstacles” to hosting nuclear weapons.

Such a scenario is only likely in the event of World War Three.

The move “is not about Finland facing any acute or sudden security threat.

“It is about ensuring that we can participate fully in NATO’s nuclear planning,” he said during a visit to India.

Over the past year, Russia has been rebuilding bases and military infrastructure near Finland, while Helsinki has answered with tougher border measures, more war games and a growing NATO footprint in the north.

Satellite images show Moscow adding troop facilities, vehicle storage and aviation infrastructure near the frontier.

Finland has lined up 122 exercises for 2026 and agreed to host NATO Forward Land Forces, turning Europe’s far north into one of the alliance’s newest pressure points.

EU state Finland only joined NATO in 2023, and neighbour Sweden a year later in response to Vladimir Putin’s blatant aggression in Ukraine.

Finland lost large parts of Karelia to the Soviet Union in World War II, territory that remains part of Russia today.

Finland was under Russian imperial rule from 1809 to 1917 — 108 years — before gaining independence after the Russian Revolution.

The Soviet Union occupied parts of Finland during 1939–40 and and from 1941–44.