Finland finishes 35 km of Russia border fence to curb migration

Express Tribune

22-05-2025

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Finland has completed the first 35 kilometres of a planned 200-kilometre high-security fence along its eastern border with Russia, the Finnish Border Guard said on Wednesday, as the country presses forward with efforts to curb irregular migration it believes has been deliberately channelled by Moscow.
The barrier, which rises 4.5 metres high and is topped with a metre of barbed wire, is being constructed to enhance border control and deter mass crossings through remote wilderness routes.
Finland shares a 1,344-kilometre border with Russia — the longest of any European Union country.
'The main purpose of the fence is to control a large mass of people if they are trying to enter from Russia to Finland,' said Antti Virta, deputy commander of the Southeast Finland Border Guard District.
Construction of the fence began last year after Finland experienced an unexpected surge of asylum seekers arriving via Russia in 2023, particularly from countries such as Syria and Somalia.
Around 1,300 migrants entered through these routes before Helsinki shut all eight passenger border crossings indefinitely in November.
Virtually no new arrivals have been reported since the closures, yet the Finnish authorities have stood firm in their decision to erect the fence.
'From the Border Guard's perspective, it improves our ability to perform border surveillance, to act if there's some kind of disruption at the border or a border incident,' said Head of Operations Samuel Siljanen. 'The border barrier is absolutely necessary to maintain border security.'
Moscow has denied any involvement in encouraging the flow of migrants, but Helsinki has accused the Kremlin of using migration as a geopolitical tool – a charge Russia has dismissed as part of an 'anti-Russian stance.'
The fence's construction also follows Finland's decision to join NATO in 2023, ending decades of military non-alignment in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That move drew strong condemnation from Moscow, which threatened Finland with unspecified 'retaliation'.
In the border town of Nuijamaa, near one of the shuttered crossings, the new metal barrier stands silent amid tranquil woodland, equipped with cameras, sensors, lights, and loudspeakers. Still, the fence has faced criticism from human rights advocates.
The European Court of Human Rights has asked Finland to justify its indefinite border closure. Last year, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, warned that restrictions on asylum access could violate international obligations, including the prohibition of refoulement and collective expulsion.
The Finnish Border Guard maintains that the project is compliant with international law and necessary to prevent future crises. The full 200-kilometre stretch is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.