New satellite images obtained by Yle show how Russia began extensive construction work last winter in a closed military town, across the border from Finnish Lapland.
Major excavation work has been carried out and several new buildings have been erected at the Lupche-Savino garrison, which is part of the town of Kandalaksha.
According to the Murmansk regional administration, a military town is being built for a new artillery brigade and its personnel. In addition, Russia is also planning to station at least part of an engineer brigade at the site. In recent years, the Russian military has only used the same area for storage.
No information about the construction work at the Lupche-Savino garrison has previously been reported outside of Russia.
The satellite images obtained by Yle also reveal changes at Russian military sites on the Karelian Isthmus. New equipment can especially be seen at the Sapyornoye garrison, located in the area of the former Sakkola municipality.
In addition, Russia has continued military preparations in Petrozavodsk, the largest city in the Republic of Karelia.
In this article, we show the most significant changes that have taken place at these three military sites over the past winter.
Only now is Russia able to reinforce troops at the eastern border
Russia has two reasons to increase military activity near Finland. The first and more urgent reason is to train military personnel and service older equipment so it can be used for the war in Ukraine.
This is evident from Yle’s earlier findings based on satellite images, such as the emptying of the Alakurtti garrison, the construction of equipment halls in Alakurtti and Petrozavodsk, and the setting up of a large tent camp on the Karelian Isthmus.
In contrast, the new satellite images from Lupche-Savino obtained by Yle are evidence of a new and different development: Russia is seeking to permanently reinforce its troops specifically along the border with Finland.
According to one military expert, the scale of the construction project shows Russia feels the need to strengthen its military in the region.
"If the sole purpose was to send the troops to Ukraine, there would of course be no need for such infrastructure there," says Marko Eklund, who analysed the satellite images for Yle.
Retired Major Eklund had a long career in Finnish military intelligence and has monitored the Russian armed forces for over 20 years.
Kandalaksha strategically located at the edge of the Kola Peninsula
Together, the two brigades in Lupche-Savino are estimated to bring just over 2,000 soldiers to the area, Eklund says.
The Lupche-Savino garrison is situated in the northwestern part of the city of Kandalaksha, about 110 kilometers from the Finnish border.
Kandalaksha is a key transport hub at the tip of the White Sea. However, Lupche-Savino is what is known as a closed administrative area—a military town that can only be accessed with special permission.
Satellite images obtained by Yle show that, over a stretch of 1.4 kilometers, forest has been cleared and excavation work has been carried out. Previously, old buildings had already been demolished in the area.
The new structures were built over the past winter.
This part of the garrison is known as Lupche-Savino-2. The area worth noting is marked with a yellow dashed line in the satellite images. You can see the changes by sliding the image:
Until the early 2000s, the Lupche-Savino garrison was home to air defense missile units, but in recent years it has served as a storage site for engineering units.
According to the construction plan, about ten new buildings are still to be built in the area, none of which show even foundations in the latest satellite images.
Marko Eklund points out that the strategic significance of the area for Russia is obvious. It is precisely at Kandalaksha that Russian territory is narrowest, and it is a short distance from the Finnish border to the White Sea. In Russia’s view, this is a risk.
"If this bottleneck were lost in some situation, the land connection from the Kola Peninsula and Russia’s Northern nuclear submarine fleet to the rest of Russia would be cut off," Eklund says.
The images obtained by Yle also show that a large number of vehicles have been brought over the past winter to the area known as Lupche-Savino-1, located at the southeastern corner of the garrison.
"In the image, there appear to be at least rows of trucks," Eklund says.
The governor of the Murmansk region, Andrei Chibis, has stated that the construction work at the garrison is part of a project to upgrade closed military towns in 2024–2026.
A total of 42 billion rubles — about 460 million euros — has been allocated for the renovation of military towns in the Murmansk region. The project was reported in the Russian media in general terms last autumn, when Yle also covered the story.
For example, in Alakurtti, which is located near the Finnish border, both a new school and a cultural centre are to be built this year.
"Services are needed for professional soldiers. It’s hard to recruit families to the middle of nowhere," Eklund says.
The Murmansk regional administration has stated that, in addition to new construction, two residential Soviet-era apartment buildings from the early 1970s have been completely renovated in Lupche-Savino. Likewise, seven previously abandoned apartment buildings have been repaired and made habitable.
New military equipment visible on the Karelian Isthmus
Satellite images obtained by Yle also show changes at the Sapyornoye garrison on the Karelian Isthmus, which is located about 70 kilometres from the Finnish border.
The Soviet-era garrison at Sapyornoye has seen only limited activity in recent years. According to Eklund’s estimate, an NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) Protection Regiment stationed there has consisted of about 500 soldiers.
In these images, you can see how a line has been cleared at the Sapyornoye garrison, most likely for a gas pipeline, according to Eklund.
At the same time, military equipment arrived in Sapyornoye.
The changes have started taking place since last November. However, last winter’s satellite images of the area are of such poor quality that an older image has been chosen for comparison.
In this pair of images, you can see a field on the edge of Sapyornoye where vehicles are stored. It has mostly filled up over the past winter.
According to Eklund, the variety of equipment at Sapyornoye points to engineer troops. He believes the largest vehicles could be pontoon bridges.
"It’s a bit like a builder’s equipment rental yard, where there’s a wide range of machines," Eklund says about the image.
The developments at Sapyornoye may be related to the larger Kamenka garrison (Kaukjärvi in Finnish), located about 50 kilometres southwest of Sapyornoye.
Russia is upgrading Kamenka’s motorised infantry brigade to a division. A Russian brigade typically consists of about 4,000 soldiers, while a division usually has just under 10,000.
"As the number of troops in Kamenka grows, commissioning a second garrison may become necessary. That second one could be Sapyornoye, since it has old military infrastructure and good training areas," Eklund says.
Russia is establishing an army corps in Karelia
As part of the reinforcement of troops near Finland, Russia is also establishing an entirely new 44th Army Corps in the Republic of Karelia. In practice, this means about 15,000 more soldiers behind the eastern border.
A significant share of the corps’ equipment will likely come from the large depot in Petrozavodsk, as that is where most is available. Yle has analysed satellite images of the depot since 2022.
Old Soviet-era armoured vehicles, artillery, trucks, and other special equipment have been stored at the depot. It is likely that equipment has been refurbished in the depot’s halls and then sent by rail to support Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The most recent images show that the amount of equipment has started to increase again. A fourth new equipment hall has also been completed at the depot.
In the image pair, you can see the locations of the newest equipment halls and the areas where the number of vehicles has especially increased.
In addition, according to the administration of the Republic of Karelia, a railway troops brigade has been established in Petrozavodsk, while its headquarters and one battalion—that is, a few hundred soldiers—are already operational.
In the spring, a local publication reported that the headquarters of a mixed aviation division is also located in the city. That HQ directs, among other things, the air base at Besovets field near Petrozavodsk.
Neither of these headquarters have been mentioned in the media outside Russia. The establishment of headquarters in Petrozavodsk means that troop operations are now being directed ever closer to the Finnish border.
A multiple increase in tanks near Finland
Russia justifies its military build-up near the Finnish border by pointing to Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to Nato.
Last year, Russia re-established the Leningrad Military District just behind the Finnish border.
In addition to the creation of a new army corps, the reinforcement of troops is also visible in the conversion of the St. Petersburg region’s brigades into divisions, meaning their personnel will double or even treble.
Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia had about 30,000 soldiers under arms in the area of the current Leningrad Military District, but Eklund estimates that according to current plans, in the future there could be nearly 100,000.
He adds that the units deployed near Finland had fewer than a hundred main battle tanks before the war in Ukraine began. Before long, if Russia fully implements its plans, their number will multiply several times over.
These changes are significant because Russia finally has the capability to wage its full-scale ground war in Ukraine while at the same time increasing the strength and armament of its ground forces along the Finnish border.
"The threat to Finland naturally arises through politics, but if force is built up on the Finnish border, then it’s that much closer," says Eklund.
Moving troops and material takes time, however, and Eklund points out that in the runup to the Ukraine war that buildup took more than a year and involved troops from the Pacific and Kaliningrad.
