Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday, just before Finland was officially welcomed into NATO, that the Nordic countries membership in the alliance would “create (the) risk of a significant escalation of the conflict.”

Finland became the 31st member of the Western defence alliance on Tuesday morning, in a significant blow to Russia.

Russia and Finland share a 1,300 kilometre border and Moscow has already said it will beef up military divisions stationed in its west and northwest in response to Finland’s membership in NATO.

Russia claims it is fighting a “hybrid war” against NATO and the West, which is backing Ukraine with billions of dollars in military aid and financial support.

In St. Petersburg, known as Russia’s “northern capital,” residents disapproved of Finland joining NATO and said the Nordic country was “making problems for itself.”

“We used to consider it a brotherly country of the capitalist world, the closest to us in spirit, in relations, in mutually-beneficial economic relations. But now we will consider it as a state that is unfriendly to us,” said one resident, Nikolai.

St. Petersburg is about 150 kilometres from the Finnish border.

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