Fearing war with Russia, Finland hardens NATO's north frontier

Arab News

16 hours ago

LAPPEENRANTA: At a shooting range 10 miles from the Russian border, Finnish army reservist Janne Latto opened the trunk of his car and unpacked a small surveillance drone and controller, equipment he sees as vital for any future conflict with Finland's neighbor.
Since the invasion of Ukraine prompted Helsinki to join NATO two years ago, tensions reminiscent of the Cold War have resurfaced along the forested 1,340-km (833-mile) frontier, Europe's longest with Russia. The Nordic nation is beefing up an already-sizeable reservist force and will host a new command for NATO, whose members meet in the Hague on June 24 for an annual summit. Still under construction, an imposing barbed-wire-topped fence now dominates a once-bustling section of the border, closed by Finland after it accused Russia of weaponizing migration. Shopping malls and restaurants that buzzed with Russian visitors have fallen quiet. On the other side, Russia has slowly begun dusting off Soviet-era military bases, satellite images show. Kyiv's June 1 attack on Russia's strategic bomber fleet, including at the Olenya airfield near northern Finland, brought the war in Ukraine closer to home.
For this story, Reuters spoke to a dozen people in Finland's border region, where the emerging divisions have left some unable to visit relatives and caused economic losses. Others supported the measures, citing a need to prepare for and deter future conflict. At the shooting range — near the lakeside town of Lappeenranta, some 100 miles from Russia's second city, St. Petersburg — Latto said the Lauritsala Reservists were training with three drones including the Parrot Anafi surveillance vehicle, used by the professional armies of several NATO members, including Finland.
A grant from Finland's association of reservist groups meant ten more were on order, he said.
The 2022 assault on Ukraine hardened 47-year-old Latto's perception of Russia.
'What if they decide to come and change the border, just like they went to Ukraine,' said Latto, who runs a small business assembling neon signs and billboards.
He recalled Soviet attempts to invade during World War Two, and how Finland was forced to cede approximately 10 percent of its territory to Russia, including Ayrapaa, a nearby municipality that his grandfather died defending in 1944.
The countries each insist they pose no threat to the other. Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said some level of Russian buildup is a normal response to Helsinki's accession to NATO, which more than doubled the length of Russia's border with the alliance.
However, a Finnish government defense report late last year described 'a heightened risk of an armed conflict,' citing the development of Russia's military capabilities since the start for the war in Ukraine, and saying Moscow had ambitions to create a 'buffer zone' from the Arctic to Southern Europe. Finland has since announced plans to stockpile land mines. It banned Finnish-Russian dual nationals from flying drones and Russians from buying property, and last week warned that mobile signals were disrupted in regions near Russia.
'Finland is responsible for over half of the entire land border between NATO countries and Russia,' Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen posted on X on Thursday, saying the country's defense posture was to ensure the border 'remains inviolable.' Finland's presidency declined to comment for this story. Russia's foreign ministry did not respond to a comment request. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday denied any plans to attack NATO. He said he did not see NATO rearmament as a threat. After Finland joined the alliance, Moscow announced plans to strengthen military capacity in Russia's west and northwest.
The activities of the Finnish reservists, who also use firearms in target practice, are voluntary, although most have completed Finland's long-standing mandatory male conscription.
More than 50,000 Finns take part in such clubs, up by about a third since before the Ukraine war, according to the Finnish Reservists' Association, with a similar increase in the number of reservists called up by the military for refresher training. Even older members of Latto's band of volunteers could see service in a crisis, as Finland raises the reserve's upper age limit to 65 to add 125,000 troops to a wartime army, and to take the number of reservists to one million by 2031.
He welcomed the extended military service, saying older reservists could be drone or radar operators.
'You don't have to run with the infantry to be a part of the modern battlefield,' said Latto, a skilled hobbyist who has made his own first-person-view goggles to control a homemade drone.
SPLIT FAMILIES
Some businesses are unhappy with the changes. Shopping malls and restaurants once buzzing with Russian visitors are noticeably emptier. Up to 13 million annual cross-border trips have ended, affecting dual citizens with family in Russia.
The vanishing Russian tourists and dearth of trade has taken at least 300 million euros annually from a 5.5 billion euro local economy, the region's council said. Unemployment soared to close to 15 percent at the end of last year, higher than the national average.
Antique shopkeeper Janne Tarvainen said that previously, some locals complained the Russian visitors had made it hard to get reservations in restaurants or find parking spots.
'I saw it differently – money was coming into the town,' said Tarvainen, who is now looking for online shoppers to replace Russian footfall.
Oksana Serebriakova, 50, whose grandfather was Finnish, moved to Lappeenranta from Moscow after the COVID-19 pandemic looking for better opportunities for her 17-year-old son Vitalik. Her older son and the boys' father stayed in the Russian capital, with plans for frequent visits.
The border closure has split the family, creating 'a very sad situation,' said Serebriakova, who is studying for a business administration diploma at a local vocational college.
The migration problem 'could have been solved' with measures such as strict checks at entry points similar to airports, she suggested.
Finland has around 38,000 dual citizens, official data shows, considerably less than other countries bordering Russia. About 420,000 Finns who lived in territory ceded to Russia after World War Two settled in Finland.
Ivan Deviatkin, a local politician who has a son in Finland and an aging mother in Russia, unsuccessfully challenged the border closure in Finland's courts. Nine plaintiffs now have a complaint pending hearing at the European Court of Human Rights, which has asked Finland to justify the shutdown.
'RE-BORDERING'
For decades after World War Two, Finland gradually opened trade and travel connections with Russia.
Now though, the E18 motorway that links Helsinki and St. Petersburg ends abruptly at metal barricades at the border, as do other previously busy roads. Finland closed the frontier over the arrivals of undocumented migrants in 2023, which Helsinki viewed as a Russian policy response to its accession to NATO. Moscow said it was abiding by rules and that Finland had adopted an anti-Russia stance.
At the time, the borderline was hardly visible, mostly marked only by poles or a low barrier to keep domestic animals from wandering off, with a small trail for occasional canine patrols to follow. In place of that, Finland is raising 200 km (124 miles) of 4.5-meter (15 ft)-high fence dotted with cameras and motion sensors in the most passable areas of the forest-covered 1,340-km (833 mile) border. A new dirt road runs parallel for quicker access by border guards.
The changes had made 'a big, big impact,' said Finnish Border Guard Head of Operations Samuel Siljanen.
'We've moved kind of from an era of de-bordering to one of re-bordering,' he said.
NATO COMMAND
Hopes for a quick detente run low. Helsinki believes Russia will reinforce the neighboring Leningrad military region once the war in Ukraine ends, president Stubb has said, although he downplays any threat from Russia so far.
Behind the border, satellite images show Russia beginning some work on garrisons, including building new warehouses. A senior government official aware of Finland's military planning described such work as minor and not a threat. Finland has long had a strong military. It has ordered 64 US-made F-35s to modernize its fighter jet fleet. It has the largest artillery arsenal in Western Europe, another official said.
The sources requested anonymity to speak about sensitive matters.
It is important 'to signal credibly to Russia that it's not worth it,' said Chatham House associate fellow Minna Alander, whose research includes work on Finnish and Northern European security. She said Finland was not a threat to Russia.
'NATO will never attack Russia, and I believe they know this,' Alander said.
The new NATO northern headquarters will host around 50 officers from countries including the US and UK together with the Finnish Army Command, in the eastern Finnish town of Mikkeli, a two-hour drive from the border.
'In the event that we ever moved into a conflict, this headquarters would be working alongside NATO forces in a command and control role,' Brig. Chris Gent of the Allied Land Command told Reuters on a visit in Finland.