Finnish army suddenly holds military exercise in school, causing panic among students

Recently, the Finnish army suddenly organized a military exercise on the campus of a school in the town of Kouvola, bordering Russia, causing panic among students and forcing the school to call local emergency services.

Soldiers are training as part of the “Karelian Stone 25” exercise at Julkula Hospital in Kuopio, eastern Finland - Photo: YLE

On March 6, Russian news agency RIA quoted information from Finnish radio station Yle saying that on March 4, the Finnish army suddenly conducted military exercises at the Tähteenkatu school campus in the town of Kouvola, located on the border between the European Union (EU) and Russia, without prior notice.

The surprise drill frightened students, forcing school administrators to call local emergency services to clarify the situation.

“The students were preparing to go home when school staff noticed heavily armed soldiers, carrying guns, moving around the school grounds. We knew nothing about this and did not dare let the students go home,” Yle quoted school principal Pasi Jalonen as saying.

The local police then contacted the school and explained that this was part of the Finnish Defense Forces (FDF) exercise “Karelian Stone 25.”

This exercise started on March 3 and ended on March 7, with the participation of about 800 soldiers, military personnel and 100 military vehicles.

The students remained at school for about 30 minutes waiting for local police to deal with the incident.

Mr. Jalonen said local people were scared and wary of military and political news in recent days.

“It is great that we are involved in part of the exercise but it would be better if they (FDF) informed us in advance that they were coming to the school,” added principal Jalonen.

The leadership of the Karelian Brigade - the unit that organized the exercise in the town of Kouvola - has apologized to the staff, teachers and students of Tähteenkatu school for the incident.

Previously, Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov informed that since joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Finland has increased the number of military exercises significantly. According to the plan, Finland will organize 115 military exercises in 2025.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/quan-doi-phan-lan-bat-ngo-tap-tran-trong-truong-hoc-khien-hoc-sinh-hoang-loan-20250306155952681.htm