Finns Prep For Russians (Again)

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service said it investigated “a wide range of observations” and found nothing of concern. While the biggest shelter in Kuopio can fit 7,000 people, Ukrainians sometimes only have a few minutes to run to a subway station or underground parking lot. That means people need a shelter they can reach easily that offers some form of protection — not necessarily one that can withstand a nuclear attack, he said. Dmytro Untila, 20, a Ukrainian student at the university in Kuopio, was at home in Odesa when Russian missiles struck his city on Feb. 24, 2022, the first day of the war. He sheltered in the entrance hall of his building because he didn’t have anywhere else to go, he said.

Lights are turned off during the civil defense exercise Shelter 2026 in Kuopio, Finland, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. The exercise is testing how a large number of people can be protected in different types of disruption and during emergency conditions. (Matias Honkamaa/Lehtikuva via AP) Lights are turned off during the civil defense exercise Shelter 2026 in Kuopio, Finland, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. The exercise is testing how a large number of people can be protected in different types of disruption and during emergency conditions. (Matias Honkamaa/Lehtikuva via AP) Training for such a situation would have definitely helped in Ukraine, he said, “because nobody knew this could happen.” The biggest threat to energy infrastructure in the Kuopio region is heavy snowfall, storms and bad weather, said Juha Räsänen, CEO at the Savon Voima electricity company. But since the invasion of Ukraine, and the company’s decision to stop buying Russian biofuel, the number of cyberattacks against the network has significantly increased, Räsänen said. Last year, engineers also found at least 10 stickers placed on particularly vulnerable parts of the energy network infrastructure. Other energy companies in Finland have also found them and don’t know where they came from, he said. “If there was an explosion at that point, it could destroy a whole dam,” Räsänen said. Drones have also been spotted over power lines but those responsible have not been identified, he said. It is not possible to guard against all threats, Räsänen said, which is why it’s important people are prepared to look after themselves without help for at least 72 hours — if the power supply goes out, or if water becomes undrinkable. Since 2022, people have been more vigilant because of the security situation and therefore have reported things like reflective stickers related to land survey works, it said in a statement. Drone sightings, it said, have “largely been explained by everyday occurrences.” “Small things are happening all the time,” including Russian jamming of GPS signals, said Vuokko Lahtinen, 32, who was visiting a sauna in Kuopio. For that reason, “the best defense of Finland is to make it not worth attacking,” she said.That relies on the country’s military and defense forces but also Finnish people who feel like “we have something we want to fight for,” she said. In Finland, she said, there is a “general feeling of responsibility,” which has grown out of local community groups and even initiatives such as recycling. “On a very simple daily level, if you do things that matter, then it has a butterfly-wing effect,” Lahtinen said.