Russia has begun renovating a long-abandoned Soviet-era garrison near the Finnish border, with satellite images revealing renewed military activity at the site, according to Finnish broadcaster YLE. The development comes as Moscow moves to reinforce its frontier with NATO amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. Local Russian officials have openly embraced the expansion, describing their region as the country's "outpost on the NATO border."
Petrozavodsk garrison stirs after decades of neglect
The garrison in Petrozavodsk's Rybka district, located about 160 kilometers from Finnish territory, had been mostly empty since the 1990s and was still overgrown and dilapidated as recently as summer 2024. Russian forces occasionally used it for training, but satellite images now show dramatic changes.
By last spring, satellite imagery showed forestland cut down across wide swaths of the garrison and military vehicles parked in the open areas, YLE reports. By October 2025, more than 50 trucks were visible at the site.
Finnish military expert Marko Eklund, who has had a long career in Finnish military intelligence, analyzed the images for YLE. He said the trucks point to an armored brigade being formed to provide transport support for a new army corps. Eklund said Karelia lacks usable Soviet-era garrisons, both around Petrozavodsk and elsewhere in the republic.
"The garrison in Rybka is insufficient for the army corps. Very large construction projects are to be expected in Karelia," he said.
Local officials embrace military expansion
Senior officials from Petrozavodsk and the Republic of Karelia told regional outlet Karelinform that new construction will begin this year. Petrozavodsk City Council has declared that increasing troop numbers reflects President Vladimir Putin's will.
"Our region has been assigned a responsible task: to be our country's outpost on the NATO border. Our task as patriots and representatives of the people is to help in this," city council chair Nadezhda Dreyzis stated in November, according to the local news site Karelinform..
Karelian leader Artur Parfenchikov has been in talks with Moscow on infrastructure to support the military buildup. These include a gas pipeline to the military residential village of Chalna near the Petrozavodsk air base and a planned health center, Karelia-based news service Faktor reports.
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In an interview with Karelian TV last spring, Parfenchikov stated that arriving soldiers would bring civilian population growth.
Current Russian military presence in Karelia
The Republic of Karelia currently has roughly 2,500–3,000 military personnel, the majority serving in the Aerospace Forces. The Besovets air base at Petrozavodsk airport holds 80 fighter jets — advanced Su-35S aircraft alongside older Su-27s.
A local equipment depot holds around 2,000 tanks, vehicles, and artillery systems, most of them Soviet-era hardware. The Radio-Technical Regiment operates about 10 radar stations from its Petrozavodsk headquarters.
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Russia established the 44th Army Corps in the Republic of Karelia in 2024, planning for approximately 15,000 soldiers. Few of these soldiers have actually reached Petrozavodsk yet. The bulk of the corps is deployed to the front in Ukraine, with units fighting in Kharkiv Oblast among other sectors.
