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Finland has sent letters to nearly a million military reservists, setting out their roles “in the event of war” in reaction to rising tension with neighbouring Russia.

The letters have been dispatched to 900,000 former conscripts in the armed forces, including Finns living abroad.

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The first were sent earlier this month, with the final batch distributed in the past few days.

Finland is not a member of NATO and the country shares a 1,335-kiolometre border with Russia — the longest of any European nation apart from Ukraine.

In the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the invasion of eastern Ukraine, Finland could be vulnerable to any further aggression.

The letter tells the reservists which regiment or unit they should report to in the event of hostilities. “Attached you will find your personal details as well as your role in the event of war,” it reads.

One Finnish reservist, who received the letter, said: “The timing was not random. It is clearly due to a more aggressive stance by the Russians. I’ve been in the reserves for 15 years and this is the first time I’ve received something like this. They send out letters like this very rarely.”