The Finnish Ministry of Defence has refused permission for a group of three Russian citizens to buy a former elderly care home in Lohiko, near Kankaanpää in the Satakunta region of southwest Finland.Yle reported in the autumn that Russian buyers intended to purchase the Lohiko property, at which point the defence ministry began investigating the deal.The City of Kankaanpää and the properties located within the municipality are of particular importance to the maintenance of national security, and the ministry said that such a large property located so close to the Niinisalo garrison could be used to the detriment of Finland's territorial integrity.Furthermore, the building on the property would require very extensive renovations in order to carry out the business activities proposed by the buyers, but the ministry said it did not receive a credible explanation as to how the renovations would be carried out or funded.The ministry used the law for the first time in October this year to block a Russian citizen from purchasing a house in Kotka, in the southeast of the country."