Finland plans to repair border fence with Russia

Colonel Marko Turunen – commander of the North Karelia Border Force – told local media that, Finland wanted a stronger fence on the border with Russia. The news comes amid tensions between Russia and the West over Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Colonel Turunen explained to MTV3, officials are analyzing the condition of the border fence, but a final option for reinforcement has not been made and so far no actual work has been done. .

“If such a decision is made, we will proceed in a controlled and planned manner,” Turunen said.

Russia and Finland share a land border of 1,343km. According to MTV3, from the Finnish side, the border is only protected “by a thin, rusty barbed wire fence”.

Colonel Turunen said that a stronger fence is planned to be reinforced in high-risk and important areas, including border crossings and surrounding areas. He declined to disclose specifics about the estimated length of the planned reinforcement and construction.

Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen told MTV3 that “Finland’s capacity to maintain border security needs to be strengthened and its ability to prepare for a crisis must be improved”.

MP Riikka Purra – head of the right-wing Finnish Party – supports the idea. “Of course, it’s always expensive to build, but nothing is as valuable as our safety,” she told MTV3.

Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine since late February 2022 has prompted discussions about whether Finland and Sweden should reconsider their longstanding policy of non-military alignment and NATO membership. In a report submitted to parliament last month, the Finnish government argued that joining the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization would “enhance regional stability in the long-term”, but could also lead to “increasing tensions” along the border with Russia.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it considers NATO’s expansion to the east a threat to Russian national security. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev – now deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council – warned that Russia will deploy more troops on the western flank of the country if Finland or Sweden join NATO.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine at the end of February, after accusing Kiev of failing to fulfill the terms of the Minsk agreement, first signed in 2014 and eventually Moscow’s recognition of the the self-proclaimed Donbass republics Donetsk and Lugansk. The Minsk agreement brokered by Germany and France was designed to give the breakaway regions special status in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has since requested Ukraine officially declared a neutral country and will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian attack is completely unprovoked and rejects claims it is planning to retake the two republics in the Donbass by force.