The Russian Federation will deploy 12 more military units in response to Sweden's and Finland's accession to NATO. All of them will be located in the Western Military District.

This was announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

"Our closest neighbors Finland and Sweden have applied to join NATO. Thus, tensions continue to rise in the Western Military District's area of responsibility. We are taking measures of adequate counteraction... Twelve military units and subunits will be formed in the Western Military District by the end of the year," he noted.

It should be noted that Shoigu's statement was made against the background of assurances of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO does not create any threats for Moscow. At the same time, he promised an adequate reaction to the deployment of military infrastructure on the territory of these countries.

Previously, Putin called Finland's accession to NATO a mistake.