Concerns are growing that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a wider war with Europe, with satellite images revealing the expansion of dozens of military bases along Russia’s borders with NATO countries.

The images, published by Denmark’s national broadcaster in cooperation with intelligence services, show “a flurry of construction work is taking place ” at the sites, the Daily Mail reported. New barracks, warehouses, and military vehicles have been added over the past two years.

According to the report, one of the Russian military complexes is located in Pechenga in the Arctic region, just five miles from the Norwegian border.

Intelligence assessments indicate that the Murmansk region of Russia, near Finland and Norway, could now accommodate up to 17,000 additional troops within striking distance of neighboring countries.

Another military site near the Estonian border has also accumulated a significant number of military vehicles.

The expansion comes amid growing concerns over Russia’s increasingly hostile posture toward NATO.

The developments are expected to increase pressure on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resolve months of bitter internal disputes over military funding, which led to the dramatic resignation of Defense Secretary John Healey on Thursday.

The outgoing minister accused the prime minister and Foreign Secretary Rachel Reeves of failing to safeguard national security.

As if to deflect the accusation, Starmer announced on Sunday that UK armed forces boarded a Russian shadow fleet tanker in the English Channel in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The UK has sanctioned over 500 shadow vessels, but this is the first time that UK forces boarded a ship

Starmer said: “This successful operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that we will not let them hide.”

The U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly warned Britain that Russian aggression toward NATO is now at record levels. Russian aircraft and drones violated NATO airspace more frequently last month than at any other point this year, while the total number of incidents in 2026 has already surpassed the figure recorded during all of 2025.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)