Norway plans mass evacuation drills near Russian border
The Norwegian government is planning to conduct mass evacuation exercises in the northern parts of the country, specifically in the regions of Troms and Finnmark, which are closest to the Russian border, as reported by the Norwegian TV station TV 2's website.
Toralf Heimdal, the mayor of the town of Bardu in northern Norway, emphasizes that Russia's brutality towards civilians in the event of a potential occupation poses a serious threat.
Heimdal emphasized that no Norwegian should end up on the wrong side of the occupation line.
The planned exercises are scheduled to coincide with the NATO Cold Response maneuvers in 2026. Until now, foreign NATO forces could not conduct exercises in the eastern part of the Finnmark region to avoid provoking Russia. However, TV 2 reports that changes in defense strategy, including the establishment of a new brigade in Finnmark and a new NATO command in northern Finland, may change this.
Support for the initiative
Jørn Qviller, head of land defence in Finnmark, supports the evacuation exercise initiative and emphasizes the importance of training in preparedness and civil defence. "This is something worth promoting," says Qviller.
TV 2 notes that neighbouring Finland has already included more significant parts of its civilian population in such exercises.
The need for planning
Magnus Mæland, the mayor of Sør-Varanger municipality, which directly borders Russia, also acknowledges the need for evacuation planning. - The security situation in the world has changed dramatically - says Mæland. He emphasizes that this is an issue for the Finnmark region and the entire country.
Kristine Kallset, State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice and Preparedness, says the government is already developing new evacuation plans. In the Total Preparedness Plan presented in January, Kallset explains that a series of actions were proposed to increase resilience to crises. The priority is the Finnmark region, especially its eastern part.
