More than one-third of people in Finland are worried about political and military threats posed by Russia, according to a new survey commissioned by newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
The survey asked just over 1,000 people how concerned they were about a number of issues, including rising energy costs, climate change, infectious diseases, as well as the possible threat of Russia's attack on Ukraine spreading across Europe.
The most common worry among respondents, a full 37 percent of them, were threats posed by Russia. Just behind those concerns, 34 percent said they were worried about the rising prices of electricity and fuel.
Climate change was the third most pressing issue, with 24 percent of respondents voicing concern about the matter, according to the paper.
Meanwhile 21 percent of those surveyed said they were concerned about infectious diseases, the same proportion of respondents said they were worried about the possibility of Russia's aggression in Ukraine spreading across Europe.
Regarding tensions between Finland and its large, eastern neighbour, there is growing support among the largest parliamentary parties to shut down or restrict the issuing of visas to Russian tourists. The Kremlin's spokesman said on Tuesday that Russia would take "countermeasures" if Finland did take such measures.
The Helsingin Sanomat survey, carried out by polling firm Kantar, queried 1,050 people between the ages of 18-79 from across the country, during 10-16 June. It had a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.