Finland to start building fence on Russian border next year

Plans to build a barbed wire fence along Finland’s long border with Russia will begin early next year as the Nordic country worries about the changing security environment in Europe, Finnish border officials said.

The first three kilometers (1.8 miles) of fencing will be erected at a border crossing in the eastern town of Imatra in summer 2023.

It will eventually stretch to a maximum of 200 kilometers (124 miles).

Finland’s 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia is the longest of any EU member state.

In October, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said lawmakers had reached a consensus to build a fence to cover part of the border with Russia in a project estimated to cost 380 million euros (£330 million) and to be completed by 2026 year.

According to Ms Marin, the main purpose of the fence is to help border agents monitor and prevent possible large-scale illegal immigration, which is seen as a blended threat from Moscow.

Her government has not publicly cited Russia’s war in Ukraine or Finland’s decision to join NATO as justification for building the fence.

But Helsinki is concerned about developments in Russia and Ukraine, and the threat of retaliation from Moscow if Finland joins the military alliance.

Politicians and experts say it would be unwise, if not impossible, to erect a fence along the entire length of Finland’s long eastern border, which runs mostly through dense forests.

In some places, the Finland-Russia border is marked only by wooden posts with low fences designed to deter stray cattle.

Originally proposed by the Finnish Border Guard, the fence will be built in stages, ranging in length from 5 kilometers (3 miles) to 52 kilometers (32 miles).

It will be erected mainly in southeastern Finland, where most of the border traffic to and from Russia is, but short-circuit sections will also be built in the North Karelia region and Arctic Lapland.

Colonel Vesa Blomqvist, commander of the border guards in southeast Finland, said that once built, the fence would greatly enhance border control.

“Fences give Border Patrol more time to react by revealing the movement of people and stopping, slowing and directing movement,” Col Blomqvist said in a statement.

The fence is 3 meters (10 feet) high and topped with barbed wire.

In addition to extensive patrolling, the Finnish border guards currently use electronic and other equipment to monitor border activity.