Could Finland become the next Ukraine?Finland fears aggression following surge of Moscow propaganda questioning the legality of its 1917 independence from Russia

The Kremlin has been accused of running a 'systematic lying campaign' against Finland, with officials in Helsinki anxious over Russia questioning the legality of its independence.

The claim comes amid increased security concerns in Finland following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and tensions between Russia and the west over the movement of nuclear-capable missiles in the Balkan Sea.

Both Finland and Estonia accused Russian fighter jets of violating their airspace last week, with Finnish jets twice scrambled after Russian Su-27 planes were reportedly detected over the Gulf of Finland - a claim the Kremlin denies.

Finland's Defence Ministry has described Russian aviation over the Balkan Sea as 'intense', and officials believe the Kremlin is behind 'aggressive' media attacks against the country.

Finland will next year celebrate 100 years since its declaration of independence from the Russian Republic.

It shares an 833 mile border with Russia, but questions over the legality of the country's independence have made Finnish leaders uneasy.

After annexing Crimea in 2014, having stated the region 'must be returned to Russia', one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's former advisers said the Russian leader would be setting his sights on Finland.

Crimea had been part of the Soviet Union until 1954, when it transferred to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. 

Andrej Illarionov, Putin's chief economic adviser between 2000 and 2005, told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet: 'Parts of Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic States and Finland are states where Putin claims to have ownership.'

He said the Putin regime sees Finland's independence as 'treason against national interests'. 

Markku Mantila, the Finnish government's communications chief, said: 'We believe this aggressive influencing from Russia aims at creating distrust between leaders and citizens, and to have us make decisions harmful to ourselves.

'It also aims to make citizens suspicious about the European Union, and to warn Finland over not joining NATO.'

Finland remains outside NATO, which has suspended relations with Russia and has been at the heart of rising tensions with President Vladimir Putin.

As it is not a member state, an invasion would not be considered an attack against the alliance, which has 28 members.