New NATO member to place command center near Russian border

Finland will host the bloc’s HQ for Northern Europe in Mikkeli, less than 200km from the frontier

Finland will host a new NATO command base responsible for operations in Northern Europe in the city of Mikkeli, less than 200km from the Russian border, Helsinki announced on Friday.

Finland formally joined the US-led military bloc along with Sweden in light of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has argued that the two nations compromised their own security by becoming part of what it perceives as a hostile organization that serves US geopolitical interests, while sacrificing their credibility as possible neutral mediators.

The new Multi Corps Land Component Command (MCLCC) will be under the authority of NATO’s Joint Force Command (JFC) in Norfolk, Virginia. Initially, it will comprise only a few dozen service members, Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen told journalists.

“NATO recognizes Finland’s expertise and trusts our ability to contribute to the defense of the northern region,” he said.

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The alliance approved the creation of the new command center during the leaders’ summit in July. Helsinki allocated some €8.5 million ($9.5 million) in 2024 for the creation of the MCLCC.

Gen. Janne Jaakkola, the commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, has said that placing the new NATO structure in close proximity to the headquarters of the Finnish Army “fosters cooperation between the national and the Allies’ forces, creating obvious synergy benefits.”

Hakkanen, meanwhile, also said he would soon announce where a new multinational force that Finland intends to host will be based. According to the broadcaster Yle, Helsinki is choosing between Rovaniemi and Sodankyla. The former is the capital of the northern region of Finnish Lapland, while the latter is a municipality located in the same province but closer to the Russian border.

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NATO intensified its military buildup in Europe in 2014, following the US-backed armed coup in Kiev, claiming that it was preparing to respond to possible Russian aggression. In decades prior, the military bloc expanded its presence in Europe, breaking assurances to Moscow to the contrary in order to secure Russia’s support for the reunification of Germany in 1990.