US EditionRussia Reactivating Soviet-Era Bases Near Finnish Border, ISW Says
The Petrozavodsk garrison is being modernized to support up to 15,000 troops in the 44th Army Corps as a strategic hub near Finland, enhancing Russia's regional military posture.
- At Petrozavodsk, Russian forces are reactivating a long-abandoned garrison to host the 44th Army Corps, satellite images reviewed by Yle show.
- Following Finland's NATO accession in 2023, Russia created the 44th Army Corps in 2024, adding roughly 15,000 troops and supporting Kremlin-backed regional projects.
- Imagery shows about 50 vehicles and site infrastructure including fuel tanks, a technical bridge, and plans for new barracks and facilities for an artillery and engineering brigade plus a radio-technical regiment.
- Yle reports Petrozavodsk is acting as a staging and logistics hub, and most of the 44th Army Corps remains engaged in Ukraine while local construction plans could bring families, Artur Parfenchikov says.
- Analysts note a pattern of coordinated upgrades across the northwest frontier, and Finnish military intelligence warns these projects will increase Russia's military potential near Finland, with Severomorsk-2 activity reported on May 12, 2025.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Satellite images show Russia reviving Soviet-era base in Karelia and planning new garrisons near Finland, Yle reports
In 2025, Russia began to restore a Soviet-era military base in Petrozavodsk and plans to build new garrisons in Karelia near the Finnish border, Finland’s public broadcaster Yle reports, citing satellite imagery analysis and Russian regional media. A key part of Yle’s investigation is satellite imagery showing that as recently as 2024 the military site in Petrozavodsk’s Rybka neighborhood was in disrepair. The former Soviet base was partly overg…
Russia accelerates the strengthening of its military presence along the border with Finland, in a move that increasingly appears as a deliberate strategy of pressure in...
Russia is renovating an abandoned military base in Karelia near the border with Finland, where up to 15,000 additional soldiers could be deployed. The garrison will be made up of members of the new 44th Army Corps, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported.
The Finns discovered that Russia was rebuilding an abandoned garrison in Petrozavodsk: EADaily
EADaily, January 31st, 2026. Russia has begun modernizing the abandoned Soviet garrison in Petrozavodsk, which may indicate plans to significantly increase its military presence in Karelia. This is reported by Yle Novosti with reference to satellite images for 2024-2025.
Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suspect that Russia is expanding military sites near the Finnish border.
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