Vladimir Putin ‘stockpiling tanks' on border of key NATO country as WW3 fears soar

Tanks are reputedly being stockpiled in anticipation of future aggression towards the West (Image: Getty)

Russia is expanding its military infrastructure along its border with a key NATO country likely in preparation for future aggression against the west, it has been reported. As fears of WW3 soar, Putin is thought to be building up resources near Finland, which joined the treaty organisation in 2023, including stockpiling new tanks. Western military and intelligence officials told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that Putin is expanding military bases near Petrozavodsk in the Republic of Karelia, a Russian border region, and upgrading railway lines and other infrastructure along his country's western border with NATO.

The Kremlin is also planning to create a new army headquarters near Petrozavodsk in the next several years, it is believed, and officials are integrating roadways and railways in the Moscow Military District (MMD) with infrastructure in Belarus. The American publication also stated that the Kremlin intends to form new divisions on the basis of existing brigades in the Leningrad Military District (LMD), is overseeing the construction of new barracks and training grounds, and upgrading warehouses and railways near Petrozavodsk to accommodate the future influx of personnel.

Finland joined NATO in 2023 (Image: Getty)

The WSJ then cited a senior Finnish military official, who said that Russia is sending "almost none" of its newly produced tanks to the frontline in Ukraine, and instead is stockpiling the tanks for "later use".

Experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in their daily report of the conflict in Ukraine: "ISW previously assessed that Russia's restoration of the MMD and LMD is part of a long-term restructuring effort to prepare for a potential future large-scale conventional war against NATO.

"Russian authorities are also preparing to update Russia's National Security Strategy, likely to reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin's greater territorial ambitions in Europe and ongoing efforts to justify future aggression against NATO."

Putin is reportedly accruing military resources next the Finnish border (Image: Getty)

It comes after Russian Security Council Secretary, Sergei Shoigu, claimed that Russia is preparing to update its National Security Strategy to account for the "new problems and threats".

He claimed in an interview with the Russian news agency TASS that the country's updated National Security Strategy (NSS) must account for the "crisis" of European security, the formation of a new global order and challenges that the changing world presents to the Kremlin.

He added that it defines Russia's "long-term, strategic goals" and the "main instruments" for achieving these goals.

The ISW notes that the country updates its NSS every five years, most recently in 2021.