Finland began erecting a barrier on its Russian border on Friday, less than two weeks after joining NATO, to end its security U-turn in reaction to the Ukraine crisis.
The government built the barrier last year in case Russia flooded the border with refugees in response to its NATO application.
Finland wants to avoid repeating the winter 2021 crisis in Poland, when the EU accused Belarus, a staunch Russian ally, of flying in Middle Eastern migrants, giving them visas, and pushing them across the border.
By 2026, the steel mesh Finnish barrier will span 200 kilometers (125 miles) of its most important border. On Friday, project manager Ismo Kurki claimed the barrier would contain monitoring devices but not prevent invasions.
The 1,300-km boundary has seen minimal human activity.
The Finnish Border Guard reported 30 unlawful crossings last year, while Russian border guards blocked 800 attempts to enter Finland.
“The situation at the Finnish-Russian border has been stable and is stable at the moment,” said Border Guard Brigadier General Jari Tolppanen as one of his teams worked on the first 3-kilometer (1.9-mile) stage of the barrier in Imatra, 250km (155 miles) northeast of Helsinki.
However, Finland needs more reliable and independent border control in this new security environment. “And Finland needs less dependence on Russian border control,” he continued.
After Russia and Belarus invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Poland and the Baltic States began building barriers.
The Finnish-Russian border has been a line in the vast woodlands covered by a modest wire fence meant to halt livestock and other domestic animals but not people until today.
The 3 m (10 ft) razor-wire-topped barrier will cost 380 million euros ($417 million).
Most of the border is isolated and inaccessible. “We build vehicle-accessible target areas where large-scale illegal immigration is likely,” Tolppanen added.
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