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🇱🇹 Lithuania /Conflict & Security

“We do not know what tomorrow will bring”: Fence rises between Finland and Russia

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Outcome reported
  • Finland closed its 1,340-kilometer land border with Russia in December 2023 after more than 1,300 visa-free migrants arrived, and has since reported only a few isolated crossings.
  • Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said the situation is calm but tense and could change quickly.
  • The border fence project cost 356 million euros, with annual maintenance estimated at 2 million to 3 million euros.

A 4.5-meter-high barbed-wire fence now stands along strategic sections of Finland’s border with Russia, equipped with cameras and sensors. The country has completed 200 kilometers of the project as Helsinki tries to guard against a rapid change in the border situation.

Today the situation is calm, but tense, and we really do not know what tomorrow will bring.

· Mari RantanenFinland’s interior minister described the security situation at the Russian border.

“Today the situation is calm, but tense, and we really do not know what tomorrow will bring,” Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told AFP at a press event near the Nuijamaa crossing in southeastern Finland. The crossing has been closed for nearly three years. “The situation can change very quickly, so we must be very well prepared,” she added.

Finland shut its 1,340-kilometer land border with Russia in December 2023 after more than 1,300 visa-free migrants arrived. Since then, authorities have recorded only a few isolated illegal crossings. Helsinki accused Moscow of waging “hybrid warfare” by directing citizens of third countries toward the Finnish border, a charge the Kremlin denied.

The situation can change very quickly, so we must be very well prepared.

· Mari RantanenShe explained why Finland continues to reinforce its border defenses.

Rantanen described the fence as part of the country’s border protection. “It is one of the parts of our border protection that helps us carry out surveillance, but when necessary also prevents people from entering Finnish territory,” she said.

It is one of the parts of our border protection that helps us carry out surveillance, but when necessary also prevents people from entering Finnish territory.

· Mari RantanenShe described the fence’s surveillance and deterrence functions.

The Border Guard says about 1,000 landowners and hundreds of companies took part in what it called an exceptionally large infrastructure project. Finland’s fence cost 356 million euros, and annual maintenance is expected to cost 2 million to 3 million euros. Project manager Erkki Matilainen said drone technology is advancing rapidly, but the fence is still considered the best option for managing crowds. Land crossings between Finland and Russia remain closed until further notice. Similar fences have been built in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland along borders with Belarus.

It is still considered the best solution for crowd control.

· Erkki MatilainenThe border project manager defended the fence despite advances in drone technology.
About this summary

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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