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New border fence: How safe is Finland from Russian attacks?

2022-10-20T13:00:34.813Z


New border fence: How safe is Finland from Russian attacks? Created: 10/20/2022 2:49 p.m By: Luisa Billmayer, Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld Finland and Russia share a border that is more than 1,000 kilometers long. © Sasu Makinen/afp/EuroGeographics/N. Bruckmann/M. Litzka (assembly) A 1,300 km long border separates Finland from Russia. After Putin's partial mobilization, border traffic was restricte


New border fence: How safe is Finland from Russian attacks?

Created: 10/20/2022 2:49 p.m

By: Luisa Billmayer, Anna-Katharina Ahnefeld

Finland and Russia share a border that is more than 1,000 kilometers long.

© Sasu Makinen/afp/EuroGeographics/N.

Bruckmann/M.

Litzka (assembly)

A 1,300 km long border separates Finland from Russia.

After Putin's partial mobilization, border traffic was restricted.

But forests and lakes can hardly be controlled.

Now Helsinki wants to build a fence.

Helsinki/Brussels – Russia's war against Ukraine was only a few days old when Finland made a turning point in terms of security policy.

Off to NATO.

Helsinki – with Sweden in its luggage – submitted the application for membership in a hurry.

A historic step.

Suddenly, the majority of the five and a half million inhabitants spoke out in favor of the military alliance.

That was unthinkable just before the outbreak of war.

But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought back unpleasant memories.

Finland shares a border that is more than 1,000 kilometers long with its huge neighboring country.

And history shows that the Soviet Union, which collapsed 30 years ago, did not shy away from crossing this border.

This was the case in the Winter War of 1939/1940, when the Red Army invaded Finland because of alleged security concerns.

With a similar argument, Russia has been waging an invasion war in Ukraine since February 24.

“Finland has a long history of wars with Russia.

Throughout history, Russia has attacked Finland, which was still part of Sweden until 1808/1809, at least once a century,” says political scientist Minna Ålander from the renowned Finnish Institute of International Affairs think tank

Frankfurter Rundschau

by

IPPEN.MEDIA

.

So it is not surprising that the Finns are pushing into NATO.

The next big step followed with the border closure to Russia in view of the partial Russian mobilization.

Until then, the Finnish border had been one of the few remaining entry points for Russians into Europe.

Other EU countries bordering Russia, such as Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, had turned away Russian citizens at their borders weeks earlier.

And now Finland is going one step further: On Wednesday, parliament decided to erect a fence at least 130 kilometers long along the border.

"It's about making sure the border is well controlled," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said.

"And that we can preventively influence the situations that could arise at the border." According to Marin, all parties represented in parliament have approved the proposal.

The government is now working on a pilot project for this.

Ukraine War: Finland shares 1,300km mostly unprotected border with Russia

Finland and Russia have always had a difficult relationship.

On the one hand, before the invasion of Ukraine, there were close partnerships, joint research projects - and the border to Finland was crossed by Russians to shop for everyday needs.

On the other hand, Finland has never forgotten the threat posed by the Soviet Union.

That's why little Finland has one of the largest artillery arsenals in Europe.

"We Finns have it in our DNA that an imperialist threat can emanate from Russia," says Petri Sarvamaa of the

Frankfurter Rundschau

of

IPPEN.MEDIA

.

The Finnish MEP (EPP) was the initiator of an open letter to Prime Minister Sanna Marin - with the demand that Russians should no longer be issued Schengen visas.

Shortly thereafter, Finland actually restricted border traffic.

To understand the magnitude of these restrictions, it is helpful to take a closer look at the 1,300-kilometer boundary line.

A distance as long as a car ride from Flensburg to Milan.

The border area is characterized by forests and lakes.

Eight official crossings allow entry and exit by car.

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Many people used this option to the end to escape from the Russian partial mobilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this measure on September 22 with the aim of mobilizing 300,000 reservists for the Ukraine war.

Shortly thereafter, the Finnish border guards registered a maximum of 8,583 Russian nationals who crossed the border towards Finland.

On September 29, the Finnish government decided to restrict border traffic.

Since then, anyone who wants to enter the country must fall under the exceptions defined by Finland – such as having a residence permit, relatives or an apartment in Finland.

Anyone traveling on business or for medical treatment can also enter the country.

Above all, there should be no more short tourist trips, according to the website of the border guard.

The consequences of the measure are obvious: only around 1,000 Russian nationals travel to Finland every day on average.

The authorities do not record which exceptions apply, as the Finnish border guards explained to the

Frankfurter Rundschau

from

IPPEN.MEDIA

.

It is also noticeable that more people have been leaving than entering the country since September 30th.

The border guard sees the effects of the entry restrictions in this change: people with a Russian passport can leave the country as usual, but entry is limited.

About IPPEN.MEDIA

The 

IPPEN.MEDIA

network is one of the largest online publishers in Germany.

At the locations in Berlin, Hamburg/Bremen, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Vienna, journalists from our central editorial office research and publish for more than 50 news offers.

These include brands such as Münchner Merkur, Frankfurter Rundschau and BuzzFeed Germany.

Our news, interviews, analyzes and comments reach more than 5 million people in Germany every day.

Russia-Finland border: Political scientist shares Finnish national security concerns

Is the massive border restriction an escalation in the neighborhood relationship?

MEP Sarvamaa says no.

Instead, he describes the procedure as a "protective measure that had to be carried out".

Nevertheless, in the conversation he is convinced that this is only temporary.

Russia also has completely different problems at the moment.

That means the Kremlin's eye is on Ukraine.

Political scientist Minna Ålander partly agrees: “There is currently no direct military threat from Russia.

But it is very possible that Russia will become a future threat.” Finland's planned entry into NATO is therefore the only logical step.

However, EU politician Sarvamaa does not yet see the long border as a security risk.

Individuals could get to Finland via hidden forest paths.

“But for larger masses from Russia, border crossing would be impossible due to modern technology and intelligence sources.

If there were any plans to cross the border where there are no controls, we would know about it,” the Finn is convinced.

The fence will further facilitate control.

According to Minna Ålander, the border situation is a concern for the Finns: "In Finland, due to the flight of conscript men, there was heated discussion as to whether this could pose a security threat." While Germany was discussing the simplified admission of Russian conscientious objectors, it was clear to Finland that the refugee movement is a reason to “tighten visa restrictions instead of easing them”.

When asked about the nature of the safety concerns, Minna Ålander lists several Finnish concerns:

  • An infiltration by Russian agents in Finland mingling with asylum seekers

  • Mass uncontrolled Russian border crossings

  • A destabilizing effect by Russian citizens who do not want to go to war but still trust the Kremlin's propaganda

  • The encounter with Ukrainian refugees in Finland

Russia-Ukraine War: "New" Iron Curtain?

EU politicians still see a common future

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) sees things differently: "Anyone who courageously opposes the regime of President Vladimir Putin and therefore puts himself in great danger can apply for asylum in Germany because of political persecution." While the federal government sees the flight movement from Russia as a good sign in principle values ​​– as a symbol that many Russians do not want to take part in the war against Ukraine – Helsinki is more critical of it.

Asylum must still be possible, but the German idea of ​​simplifying this is viewed very controversially in Finland, says Ålander.

And so Russians are now fleeing conscription mainly through the south-east of Russia, for example across the borders with Kazakhstan, Georgia or Mongolia.

Some critical voices, such as the Russian opposition politician Lev Schlossberg, fear a "new" Iron Curtain because of the EU border closures.

Cutting off escape routes would only serve the Kremlin.

A similar argument was recently put forward by an author in the Brussels Playbook

newsletter, which has received a great deal of attention in EU circles

.

Poland and the Baltic States see things fundamentally differently.

"We will not allow any group of Russians to enter Poland in general, not even those who claim that they are fleeing the mobilization," said the Polish Deputy Interior Minister Marcin Wasik, according to the German Press Agency.

And Lithuania's Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite warned that under the guise of fleeing mobilization, officials from the Russian secret service, the military or people recruited by them could also come into the country.

The threat to Russia's own security situation is also a concern for these countries.

Despite the currently gloomy situation, Petri Sarvamaa sees a common future for Finland and Russia.

On one condition: “We must support democratic ambitions in Russia in every possible way.

Sooner or later the current government in Moscow will fall.

Then there will also be prospects for Finland and Russia again.”

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-10-20

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