Armed Conflict

Lawfare Daily: Minna Ålander on Finland, NATO, and the Russian Threat

Anastasiia Lapatina, Minna Ålander, Jen Patja
Thursday, May 29, 2025, 7:00 AM
Why is the Russian military putting forces near Finland?
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Lawfare’s Ukraine Fellow Anastasiia Lapatina sits down with Minna Ålander, an Associate Fellow at the Chatham House Europe Programme, to discuss Russia's buildup of military infrastructure along its borders with NATO member countries, particularly along the Finnish border, and what European countries are doing to prepare for a potential clash with Russia. They also talk through Finland’s history with Russia and its security capabilities, especially in light of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the integration of Finland and Sweden into NATO, potential scenarios of Russian aggression, and the critical role of the U.S. in NATO's security framework.

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Anastasiia Lapatina

Anastasiia Lapatina

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Anastasiia Lapatina is a Ukraine Fellow at Lawfare. She previously worked as a national reporter at Kyiv Independent, writing about social and political issues. She also hosted and produced podcasts “This Week in Ukraine” and “Power Lines: From Ukraine to the World.” For her work, she was featured in the “25 Under 25” list of top young journalists by Ukraine’s Media Development Foundation, as well as “Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe” class of 2022 in the category Media and Marketing.
Minna Ålander

Minna Ålander

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Minna Ålander is research fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) in Helsinki. Her research topics are German and Finnish foreign and security policy, Northern European security and Nordic defence cooperation. Previously, she worked at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin.
Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.
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