In Finland, the construction of a fence on the border with Russia has begun. Workers have already begun cutting down trees on both sides of the Imatra border crossing. On Tuesday, February 28, the TV and radio broadcasting portal reports Yle.
The border guards are planning to first fence off a three-kilometer section in a test mode. This will be a kind of experiment that will show whether the constructed fence will withstand the winter frost, snow loads and the pressure of people who, according to the Finnish authorities, may arrive from the east, the media points out.
Finland’s plans to build a fence on the southeastern part of the border with Russia became known in September 2022. Then it was reported that the fence with a length of 1.3 thousand km is planned to be built within two to three years. According to the plan of the Finnish authorities, the fence should cover 10-20% of the border with Russia. The service life of the structure is expected to be 50 years.
In October of the same year, the parties in the Finnish Parliament supported the idea of a fence. The government promised to help fund the construction in the 2022 supplementary budget and the 2023 draft budget. It was also reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country plans to allocate €6 million for the construction of a pilot section and €139 million for the construction of the entire barrier.
At the same time, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö pointed out the importance of maintaining and maintaining a dialogue with Russia in order to prevent the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
On September 30, Finland banned the entry of Russian citizens with tourist visas, after which the queues at the checkpoints practically disappeared.
