Finland’s parliament voted 125-61 on Wednesday to scrap a decades-old ban on nuclear weapons, a dramatic shift in defence policy driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine and the growing military presence along their shared border. The amendment to the Nuclear Energy Act, originally passed in 1987, now allows the import, transport, supply and possession of nuclear arms on Finnish soil for national defence. Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen called the move “essential” for Finland’s security, but stressed the country has no plans to permanently station nuclear weapons. “This historic reform strengthens the security of Finland and of NATO as a whole,” Häkkänen wrote on X after the vote, noting it followed years of talks with allies and nuclear powers.
The law change removes what Häkkänen had described as an awkward legal restriction for a NATO member. Finland joined the alliance in April 2023, a direct response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine the previous year. Tensions along the 830-mile (1,300-kilometre) border have escalated since. Just last week, Russia began construction on a new military base eerily close to Finland’s eastern frontier—the first such installation since the Soviet collapse. Aerial photos show a dozen new barracks under construction after forest clearance began in late 2025. Military expert and former Finnish intelligence officer Marko Eklund estimated the base can accommodate between 4,000 and 6,000 personnel. Earlier, in Kamenka, around 35 miles from Finnish territory, some 130 installations capable of housing 2,000 troops were set up.
“Finland's parliament voted 125-61 to lift its nuclear weapons ban, citing Russian aggression and NATO integration.”
Finland has responded by erecting a 10-foot fence topped with barbed wire along large stretches of the border to stop illegal crossings, after closing the eastern side last summer following an influx of what the government called Russian‑directed “refugees”. Security concerns remain high. In May, Finnish authorities scrambled fighter jets after a suspected drone entered the country’s airspace near Helsinki. President Alexander Stubb said Finland faced “no direct military threat”, but military officials revealed they had received advance intelligence warning of the incident.
The nuclear vote also comes as Helsinki weighs closer participation in French President Emmanuel Macron’s plans for a broader European nuclear deterrent. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has signalled interest in cooperating with the initiative but said Finland has yet to make a final decision. For now, the government insists it will not host nuclear weapons, but the legal door is open—should NATO ever need to bring them closer to Russia’s border.