Russia Suspends Power Supply to Finland Following 'NATO Membership Declaration'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Eun-mo] Russia has reportedly cut off power supply to Finland, which officially declared its accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

On the 14th (local time), a representative of Finland's power grid company told AFP that "since midnight today, no power has been supplied from Russia."

On the previous day, RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of the Russian state-owned energy company Inter RAO, issued a statement warning that "power supply will be cut off from the 14th due to non-payment for power imports." RAO Nordic imports electricity from Russia and sells it to Finland. Russian power accounts for 10% of Finland's total electricity consumption. AFP reported that the current shortage is being compensated by Sweden.

Although Russia's stated reason is payment issues for electricity bills, analysts interpret this as pressure against Finland's NATO accession efforts. Finland, along with Sweden, is expected to simultaneously apply for NATO membership as early as next week. Russia claims that the NATO accession of these countries poses a serious threat to its national security and has declared it will respond through various means, including military-technical measures.