Gen. Sami Nurmi, deputy chief of staff for the Finnish Defense Forces, said Moscow could rapidly rebuild its combat power after the fighting in Ukraine subsides, allowing it to reassert its presence closer to Finland and across the wider Arctic region. Finland, which joined NATO in 2023, shares a long border with Russia and has warned that Moscow’s military posture could change quickly once forces and equipment are freed up from the Ukraine front. Nurmi’s comments come amid heightened security concerns in northern Europe.