Russia will soon deploy its newest howitzers in its Northern Military District, which borders Finland and Norway.
When Russia will place howitzers on the border with Finland
Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Rostec Corporation, a state-owned defense conglomorate, announced that the testing of the new 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled artillery system has been completed and the serial production has already begun. According to him, the first pilot batch will be delivered by the end of 2023.
I think they will appear there (in the Northern Military District) in the near future, as howitzers of this class are needed to ensure advantages over Western systems of artillery in terms of firing range, Chemezov said.
As noted, in 2021, the Russian President Vladimir Putin changed the status of the Russian Northern Fleet, whose area of responsibility was mainly the Russian Arctic, to the Northern Military District, which includes the Murmansk region, bordering Finland and Norway.
Earlier in December, the Russian state news agency TASS reported that some Koalitsiya-SV howitzers had already been deployed to the frontline in Ukraine.
The howitzers, which have a range of up to 70 kilometres, are equipped with a The howitzers, which have a range of up to 70 kilometres, are equipped with a 152 mm 2A88 gun with a rate of fire of more than 10 rounds per minute and an automated fire control system.
Russia threats Finland
Earlier, the Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened Finland over the country's accession to NATO and announced that he would send troops to the Finnish border.
The issue of NATO enlargement has become relevant after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In April 2023, Finland officially became NATO's 31st member. Sweden also plans to join the Alliance, but Turkey is still blocking its membership.
