Three large buildings have been rapidly erected in the Russian wilderness near the Finnish border. They are used by Russia’s Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade.
The site is the Alakurtti military base, about 50 kilometres from the Finnish border, east of the municipality of Salla in Finnish Lapland.
Satellite images obtained by Yle show that Russia has also built a new large military storage site in Petrozavodsk. The town, known as Petroskoi in Finnish, lies about 175 km from the border, east of the Finnish town of Kitee.
The construction projects are the first concrete sign that Russia has again begun investing in its military bases near Finland after years with little or no development.
So far, Russia has mainly amassed troops stationed near the Finnish border for its war against Ukraine. In July 2022, Yle reported that an entire battalion tactical group had left Alakurtti for the war.
The pictures below show the first two new warehouses appearing in Alakurtti. You can see the change when you slide the image.
Yle has reviewed several satellite images of the base this summer. They indicate that the buildings were erected from foundation to full height within one day. The first hall was raised on 9 July and the second on 28 July.
The latest satellite image shows a third similar structure. It was erected on 11 August, also within a day.
The rapid pace of construction indicates a new building method. A strong plastic-coated fabric roof is attached to top of a lightweight metal frame, a military expert specialising in Russia tells Yle.
"This is the first time this technology has reportedly been used in the northern region. Apparently, the material can withstand severe cold," says Major (Ret.) Marko Eklund.
Eklund has worked in Finnish military intelligence and monitored the Russian Armed Forces for more than 20 years.
Russia used the same construction method in the 2010s, when it quickly established new garrisons along the Ukrainian border, as seen in these photos of a base near Rostov published by Russian military blogger Igor Girkin in early 2018:
Eklund estimates that the new halls in Alakurtti are a little over 100 meters long and about 25 meters wide, with a floor area of some 2,500 square meters. He says that each building could easily accommodate the combat vehicles of one battalion, or about 40 MT-LB armoured personnel carriers.
Satellite images of Alakurtti show rectangular light-coloured areas next to the new halls. These are most likely foundations for other planned buildings. The foundations have been in place since at least 2017.
According to Eklund, they represent an unfinished construction project, which is common in Russia. Traditional equipment halls were probably planned for the area, but have been made redundant by the structures built with the new technique.
"The new model is a significantly cheaper solution compared to a traditional hall made of sheet metal and concrete," Eklund points out.
Russia has stationed about 2,000 troops at the Alakurtti base, but at least one third or even half of them have been sent to fight in Ukraine. The garrison is home to the 80th Separate Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade.
The troops from Alakurtti have suffered losses in Ukraine. In June, Ukraine struck a command post manned by the brigade near the front, but no further details have been given about the damage caused by the attack.
The brigade is trained to operate in cold, dark Arctic conditions. Its equipment includes armoured personnel carriers but not main battle tanks, for example.
The new halls can only accommodate some of the base's equipment, which is now mostly under the open sky.
However, if a decision were made to increase the number of troops in the region – as the Russian leadership has claimed it will do because of Finland's Nato membership – new structures could appear very quickly if necessary.
New hall among the tanks in Petrozavodsk
Yle has also identified through satellite images another large construction site in Petrozavodsk, the site of Russia's largest concentration of military materiel near the Finnish border.
Originally, armoured vehicles were stored in the open area.
This picture shows the frame of the new hall.
Some 50 armoured vehicles could fit into the hall.
Images reveal that a large gabled hall was built amid the cannons and tanks stored at the depot in early July. It was probably made using the same technique as the news structures in Alakurtti, but took longer to complete.
Eklund estimates that the new building measures about 50 by 25 meters, or about 1,250 square meters. The hall could accommodate, for example, about 50 armoured vehicles if parked densely. However, the Petrozavodsk structure is likely to be used for equipment maintenance.
In Eklund's view, the Petrozavodsk depot’s most important task at the moment is to refurbish and deliver equipment for the war against Ukraine. Many transport tanks, combat vehicles and artillery are stored at the site, enough to equip at least one motorised brigade of 4,000 soldiers.
Most of the equipment is stored in the open, making it easier to see what is happening there than at many other military sites.
Satellite image of the Petrozavodsk depot:
Over 100 howitzers sent from Petrozavodsk to the front
The Petrozavodsk equipment is very old, so its condition is uncertain. It was collected from units in the region that were disbanded in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As the war grinds on with Russia losing much of its newer equipment, it has had to deploy old equipment.
According to Eklund, this satellite image of the Petrozavodsk depot taken on 18 June shows 2S3 Akatsiya self-propelled howitzers being loaded onto train wagons:
Eklund has determined from satellite images that the number of artillery weapons at the Petrozavodsk depot has been steadily decreasing since Russia began its full-scale attack on Ukraine just over a year and a half ago. Since the spring of 2022, about 10 batteries have disappeared from the area, most of them this year.
Since the stored batteries contained 12–18 artillery pieces each, well over 100 artillery pieces have already been sent to the front from Petrozavodsk, Eklund calculates.
Most of the artillery sent to the front was taken from this area of the equipment depot, as seen in these images taken on 10 Sept. 2021 (Google Earth) and 16 July 2023 (Planet Labs):
Based on satellite images, Yle has also monitored the situation at several other Russian military bases near the Finnish border. They do not show any significant permanent changes.
Expert: Nothing but Russian bluster
Russia has repeatedly threatened to respond to Finland joining Nato last April, as well as Sweden's expected accession.
Last December, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia was planning to strengthen its armed forces near the Finnish border. He repeated the statement last month.
So far, though, there has been no sign of reinforcement of troops.
Could the construction of the new buildings be a sign that Russia is moving toward reinforcing its north-western border?
Ilmari Käihkö, an associate professor of war studies at the Swedish Defence University, does not believe so.
"Russia has nothing to put here on [our] eastern border. On the contrary, equipment from the border is being deployed elsewhere, and Ukraine is the number one destination," Käihkö tells Yle.
According to Käihkö, Russia does not have enough troops and equipment to strengthen the Finnish border region as long as the war in Ukraine continues at its current level.
"Shoigu's bluster is just bluster," says Käihkö.
According to Käihkö, the new buildings in Alakurtti and Petrozavodsk are likely to be used to refurbish equipment for the war in Ukraine, and have no significance for Finland's security.
"At least there is no need [for Finland] to take any immediate action based on this information," he says.
Käihkö adds that Finnish military intelligence is well aware of changes in Russian military sites near the border.
One of the interviewees for this story, Marko Eklund, currently works as a background reporter at Yle's news and current affairs editorial office.
SATELLITE DATA PROCESSING: MIKKO POHJA
GRAPHICS: ILKKA KEMPPINEN
TRANSLATION: WIF STENGER
Edited 12.9.2023: Two picture sources were changed. The satellite picture of Alakurttitaken on 21.10.2022 was taken by Airbus, not Planet Labs. the most recent picture was taken on 27.8.2023, not 28.8.2023.
Edited 13.9 picture credit: The Petrozavodsk picture from 25.10.2022 was taken by Airbus, not Planet Labs.