Finland has proposed to spend € 139 million to build fences along its Eastern border with Russia
Finland’s Government has announced a proposal to spend € 139 million (U.S. $143.4 million) to build fences along its Eastern border with Russia, fulfilling a promise it made in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The planned border fence will stretch for a distance of 130 to 260 kms (80 to 161 miles) of the 830 miles long border it shares with Russia. The border will have surveillance equipment and a patrol road as well.
The construction of such a fence is expected to take 3-4r years and it can endure for roughly 50 years. The pilot section will be built in Imatra starting in spring 2023.
A Statement from Finnish Border Guard read, “In the assessment of the Finnish Border Guard, the changed security environment has made it necessary to construct a barrier fence along part of the eastern border.”
It further read, “If Russia reduces its border control, this may cause additional pressure at the Finnish end to control illegal entry. Finland cannot rely on the effectiveness of Russian border control.”
Taking it to twitter, the Head of International Affairs Unit at Finnish Border Guard – Matti Pitkäniitty tweeted,
Interesting visit to Estonia’s eastern border. I am starting to understand the magnitude of changes that we will see also at the Finnish eastern border.
— Matti Pitkäniitty (@MPitkaniitty) November 18, 2022
For me the most important lesson was: “Don’t talk about building a fence. This is much, much more.”
Thank you 🇪🇪 @Politsei ! 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/kC7UU28Kde
He further tweeted,
Facts about Finnish border infrastructure. (I avoid the word “fence”, as I agree with our Estonian colleagues that this is much more than just a fence. It is whole new border infrastructure and new approach to border surveillance.) https://t.co/f3VxmAScNy
— Matti Pitkäniitty (@MPitkaniitty) November 18, 2022
Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has increasingly restricted crossings on the eastern border it shares with Russia. The Finnish border was one of the few entry points for Russians after many Western countries shut their air space and borders to Russian planes in response to the Ukraine invasion.
It closed its border to Russia at the end of September 2022, around the time traffic over the Finland-Russia land frontier intensified as Russians tried to run away from the President of Russia – Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of citizens to fight the Ukraine war.
The Foreign Ministry of Finland had said that the Russian mobilization and the rapidly increasing volume of tourists arriving in Finland and transiting via Finland endangers Finland’s international position and international relations. Finland said that the resolution aims to stop tourism and related transit from Russia altogether. However, it will not prevent traveling when it is deemed necessary for humanitarian reasons, for national interests or for meeting Finland’s international obligations.
The number of Russians crossing the border fell significantly after the restrictions came into force. On September 29, 2022, some 8,583 Russian citizens crossed into Finland’s eastern border from Russia. That figure dropped to 1,700 when border restrictions came into force on September 30, 2022.
