KUOPIO — More than 2,000 people, including volunteers and students, are participating in a civil defense exercise in Kuopio, Finland. The exercise is the largest civil defense drill in Europe since the end of World War II.

The goal of the exercise is for local authorities and ordinary people to rehearse responses to an attack. Retired Army Colonel Asko Muhonen organized the exercise in Kuopio. The official record states that the Suojaan 2026 civil defense exercise will test how a large number of people can be protected in different types of disruption and during emergency conditions, including cyberattacks and the threat of missile strikes from Russia.

The exercise scenario involves critical infrastructure in Kuopio, including power and water, being disrupted by cyberattacks. The exercise scenario includes the threat of missile strikes from Russia. The official record states that the Suojaan 2026 civil defense exercise is part of the development of comprehensive security in the North Savo area, with the aim of improving cooperation between authorities and regional partners, and strengthening command chains, decision-making, shared situational awareness, and communication in circumstances where normal society functioning has been disrupted, according to Kuopio.

"Finland’s defense relies on the mindset of ordinary Finns who are ready to take responsibility for the country’s security," retired Army Colonel Asko Muhonen said. He said the Finnish defense mindset comes partly from the system of conscription which continued in Finland after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Two Finnish conscripts wearing hazmat suits and breathing masks measured radiation levels in a civil defense shelter hewn into rock. Jyry Pietikainen is a 23-year-old conscript who was taught how to run the Kuopio shelter overnight.

Hundreds of people slept overnight on trestle beds inside a sports hall converted into a shelter. The biggest shelter in Kuopio can fit 7,000 people. "Finland needs to learn lessons from Ukraine regarding shelter accessibility," Muhonen said.

Dmytro Untila is a 20-year-old Ukrainian student at the university in Kuopio. "Training for such a situation would have definitely helped in Ukraine, because nobody knew this could happen," Untila said.

Juha Räsänen is the CEO at the Savon Voima electricity company. The number of cyberattacks against the Savon Voima network has significantly increased since the invasion of Ukraine and the company’s decision to stop buying Russian biofuel. Engineers found at least 10 stickers placed on particularly vulnerable parts of the energy network infrastructure last year. Other energy companies in Finland have found stickers on vulnerable infrastructure and do not know where they came from.

Drones have been spotted over power lines in the Kuopio region, but those responsible have not been identified. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service investigated a wide range of observations and found nothing of concern. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service stated that drone sightings have largely been explained by everyday occurrences. The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service stated that since 2022, people have been more vigilant and reported things like reflective stickers related to land survey works.

"The biggest threat to energy infrastructure in the Kuopio region is heavy snowfall, storms and bad weather," Juha Räsänen said. "If there was an explosion at that point, it could destroy a whole dam," he said. "It is important for people to be prepared to look after themselves without help for at least 72 hours if the power supply goes out or water becomes undrinkable," Räsänen added.

Why It Matters

Finland joined NATO in 2024 along with Sweden. Finland joined NATO following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Western officials say Russia is carrying out a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe. The sabotage campaign described by Western officials has involved setting fires, attacking water facilities and power stations, and sending drones for sabotage into European Union airspace.

Finland's border with Russia stretches more than 830 miles (1,300 kilometers) from the Baltic Sea up to the Arctic Circle. Finland lost around 11% of its territory in its wars with the Soviet Union.

More than 400,000 people, around 12% of the population, fled their homes from an area that is now in western Russia during Finland's wars with the Soviet Union.

Timeline

Russian missiles struck Odesa on Feb. 24, 2022.

What's New

Research titled "World's largest PCC plant set for Finland" was published in 1998 in Filtration Industry Analyst. A study titled "European Union Security and Defense Policy: Response to Unipolarity?" was published in 2006 in Security Studies.