New Delhi: Finland has staged what several western media outlets described as Europe’s largest civil defence exercise since the end of World War II, with more than 2,000 people taking part in a major emergency drill in Kuopio. The September 2−3 exercise tested how authorities and civilians would respond if cyberattacks disrupted electricity and water supplies while the threat of missile strikes from neighbouring Russia increased.
The city of Kuopio, which described Shelter 2026 as the largest exercise of its kind held in Finland in decades, stressed that it was a pre-planned preparedness exercise and was not linked to any actual threat or emergency. Organizers said its purpose was to test the protection of a large population and improve decision making, communications, situational awareness and cooperation during serious disruptions.
What the drill is testing
The exercise was centred on Luola, a sports and events complex excavated into rock in Kuopio’s Savilahti district that can be converted into a civil defence shelter for about 7,000 people. Participants included students, volunteers, public authorities, companies and other partner organizations, while Finnish military conscripts also took part in specialist tasks.
The scenario assumed that critical infrastructure had been disrupted during a sharply deteriorating security situation. cyberattacks had knocked out power and water supplies, while Associated Press said the scenario included an increased threat of Russian missile strikes.
Participants practised entering and operating the underground shelter, arranging emergency accommodation and maintaining essential functions. More than 100 people remained underground overnight, while conscripts wearing protective equipment measured radiation levels. The shelter is designed to provide protection against blast effects as well as nuclear, biological and chemical hazards.
Why Finland is preparing
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia. Its security policy shifted sharply after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Finland formally became Nato’s 31st member on April 4, 2023.
Nato membership placed Finland under the alliance’s collective defence guarantee, but the country has retained its traditional emphasis on conscription, territorial defence and civilian preparedness. Finland’s approach to comprehensive security assigns roles not only to the armed forces and government, but also to municipalities, businesses, voluntary organizations and ordinary citizens. Nato also established multinational Forward Land Forces in Finland in June this year led by Sweden, strengthening the alliance’s presence on its northeastern flank.
The exercise organizer, retired Finnish army colonel Asko Muhonen, told AP that Finland also needed to learn lessons from Ukraine. The war has highlighted the importance of shelters and the ability to keep electricity, water, communications and other essential services functioning during missile, drone and cyberattacks.
Finnish authorities have not said a Russian attack is imminent. The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, told Germany’s Bild newspaper in late August that he saw no evidence Russia was preparing to attack a Nato member.
Growing concern over hybrid threats
The exercise also comes amid wider European concern over Russian hybrid activity. The European Union said in March that Russian hybrid campaigns had intensified since the invasion of Ukraine and included sabotage, disruption of critical infrastructure, cyberattacks and information manipulation.
In July, the EU accused Russian state and Russia linked actors of malicious cyber activity targeting governments, public services and critical infrastructure across Europe. European governments have also investigated suspected sabotage, drone activity and damage to energy and communications infrastructure, although responsibility for individual incidents has not always been established.
Finland has faced verified Russian linked cyber and electronic activity of its own. Traficom, Finland’s transport and communications agency, says satellite navigation interference affecting Finland originates from Russian territory, although the interference does not by itself establish hostile intent. In April, Finland’s security and intelligence service and national cyber security centre participated in an international operation that disrupted infrastructure used by Russia’s GRU military intelligence service for cyber espionage.
Finland’s civilian preparedness model
Civil defence shelters remain a central part of Finland’s preparedness system. The Finnish Ministry of the Interior says the country has about 50,500 shelters with room for roughly 4.8 million people, many of them built into residential, commercial and public buildings and used for other purposes in normal times. Shelters must be capable of being prepared for emergency use within 72 hours.
Preparedness also extends to households. Finnish guidance recommends that people keep enough water, food, medicines and other essentials to manage independently for at least 72 hours if electricity, water, communications or normal retail services are interrupted