Antti Kettunen pulls out his Glock 17, aims and shoots at a target on either side of a barrier before sprinting over to a jagged wall with holes in it and firing again.
It’s another Tuesday night of training for the Vantaa Reserves Association, the local chapter of the Finnish Reservists’ Association. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, these nights at a range have felt different.
There’s an extra energy in the air, perhaps best shown by anxious chatter over the group’s social media channels or its increased numbers. More than a quarter of its 1,354 members joined in the past several weeks.
Since war broke out in Europe, thousands of Finns have signed up with training associations to sharpen their military skills or learn new ones such as first aid. The rise has been fueled by anxiety over Finland’s geographic proximity to Russia. For the first time in their country’s history, a majority of Finns are in favor of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defensive alliance.
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“Our president says we are not scared, but we are aware,” says Kettunen, dressed in combat boots, a camouflage vest and shirt and olive green pants. “That’s quite nice to say, but where else do they (the Russians) go if the plan is to make the Great Russia, from Lisbon to the Japanese sea?”
Finland is one of the few European nations with mandatory military service, primarily due to its 830-mile shared border and memories of battles with Russia during the past century. That history shaped its politics, which focused on neutrality during the Cold War and walking a middle ground between the West and Russia ever since as key to maintaining its independence.
Read more: USA Today
