Finland joined the North Atlantic Alliance in the hopes of gaining an advantage after Russia was expected to lose its standoff with the West. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference, commenting on NATO expansion on its northern borders.

"Why did you join NATO? Hoping that everything would collapse here, and here they are, slap-slap. They're already building a border along the Sestra River. I'd make a definite gesture and say something, but since I'm from the cultural capital, I'll refrain." — said the Russian leader.

Putin also recalled that Russia and Finland had no previous territorial disputes.

"Did we have some kind of territorial dispute with Finland? No, everything was resolved long ago, nothing is needed, and the Finnish leadership understood this perfectly well." - he stressed.

Earlier, on May 2, Northern Strike 26, an artillery exercise taking place 70 kilometers from the Russian border, began in Finland. Military personnel from 10 NATO countries are participating in the maneuvers. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna, called these exercises evidence of "NATO countries' obsession with the inevitability of war in Europe." Finland joined NATO in April 2023, officially abandoning its long-standing neutrality.