Russia will establish 12 new military bases in the west of the country in response to Sweden and Finland applying for NATO membership.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made the announcement on Friday, saying that the new bases would be in place “by the end of the year”.

He said “12 military bases and units will be deployed in the Western Military District”, telling senior ministry and army officials that there was a “growth of military threats on Russia’s borders”, blaming NATO and the United States.

Russia’s Interfax news agency reports that Moscow is taking “adequate countermeasures” in response to those perceived “military threats” in the west.

This week Finland and Sweden both formally applied for NATO membership, a move that was unthinkable before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Finland shares a 1,300km land border with Russia, while the Swedish island of Gotland is strategically important in the Baltic Sea, and only 300km from the militarised Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Read more: yahoo