State Duma Defense Committee Deputy Chairman Alexey Zhuravlev has commented on Finland’s plans to authorize its intelligence services to conduct offensive operations on Russian territory.

According to the lawmaker, Helsinki’s own decision to close the Russian-Finnish border could complicate any attempt to carry out such missions. Mocking the initiative, Zhuravlev suggested that the only Finnish saboteurs likely to turn up in Russia under these circumstances would be drunken Finns.

As reported by Gazeta. Ru, the deputy questioned how Finnish intelligence agents could operate against Moscow when Helsinki itself had shut down all border crossings with Russia. He also sarcastically wondered whether a drunk Finnish citizen in St. Petersburg would qualify as a saboteur under the proposed measures.

Zhuravlev argued that Finland’s actions should be viewed through the lens of its NATO membership rather than as the policy of an independent state. He pointed out that the alliance has long identified Russia as its main adversary in official documents.

The lawmaker also claimed that some NATO members, particularly those that joined the alliance most recently, are eager to demonstrate their importance and attract attention from their partners. He said anti-Russian initiatives offer a convenient way to achieve that goal.

Rather than taking direct military action that could provoke retaliation from Moscow, these countries prefer to make public statements, introduce legislative changes and issue new defense ministry directives, Zhuravlev argued.