Finland has overhauled security along its eastern frontier after what officials describe as Russian efforts to unsettle European countries, recently finishing a new fence designed to strengthen control of the border with Russia.
The country has built about 124 miles of fencing on the Finnish-Russian border. Petri Hakkarainen, political director at Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, told News Media that the barrier serves as an additional safeguard against the arrival of unauthorized migrants directed from Russia.
“We have in the past witnessed Russia’s attempts … to instrumentalize migrants at the Finnish border,” Hakkarainen said. “Basically pushing migrants towards our borders, forcing us then to take them on.”
Hakkarainen said a rapid surge in arrivals can place major pressure on Finland’s asylum system, requiring authorities to handle a high volume of applications and potentially creating broader instability if the numbers become large enough.
Finland responded by shutting its entire land border with Russia in 2023. Moscow quickly protested the decision, characterizing the move as “Russophobic.”
Security cameras monitor the Niirala Border Crossing Station on Finland’s eastern frontier with Russia in November 2023, after Finland closed the checkpoint amid increased border security concerns. (Brooke Curto/News Media)
The Kremlin said it “deeply regretted” the closure, arguing that Finland had abandoned decades of pragmatic and mutually respectful ties in favor of what it called an anti-Russian political approach.
Finland’s 833-mile boundary with Russia is the longest shared by any European Union or NATO country. The newly completed border fence adds another layer of protection alongside the crossing closures.
With Russia still engaged in a grinding war in Ukraine, Western officials have accused the Kremlin of conducting broader campaigns to destabilize Europe. Those alleged efforts range from disinformation operations to state-backed economic pressure aimed at weakening public confidence.
Signs stand near the Niirala Border Crossing Station on Finland’s eastern border with Russia in November 2023 following the checkpoint’s closure. (Brooke Curto/News Media)
“We think it’s important to listen to those of us who live next door to Russia,” Hakkarainen said. “Listen to our analysis of the situation: We consider Russia to be a long-term threat to transatlantic security — not only to Ukraine, not only to Europeans, but to transatlantic security as a whole.”
Finland launched the border fence initiative after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a landmark conflict that prompted the historically neutral Nordic nation to join NATO in April 2023.
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Moscow has long viewed NATO’s eastward expansion as a direct security threat, using it to justify reinforcing its Western defenses.
When Finland officially joined the alliance, Helsinki saw an immediate reaction. Over 1,300 migrants without visas arrived at its eastern border.
The Niirala border crossing point along Finland’s eastern border with Russia in November 2023 after the Finnish government announced the closure of several border crossings amid concerns over migrant crossings. (Brooke Curto/News Media)
Finland accused Moscow of weaponizing migration as an act of “hybrid warfare,” a charge the Kremlin denied.
Closing the border checkpoints has proven “very effective,” Hakkarainen noted. Beyond physical barriers, Finnish lawmakers passed the Border Security Act.
The temporary law allows border authorities to restrict asylum applications and turn back migrants if a foreign actor attempts to destabilize the country by funneling people across the border.
Signs mark the Niirala Border Crossing Point on Finland’s eastern border with Russia in November 2023 after the Finnish government’s closure of the crossing. (Brooke Curto/News Media)
While the law sparked some initial debate over potential human rights and international law violations, Hakkarainen emphasized that national defense took priority.
“We take these concerns very seriously,” he said. “But national security and our own sovereignty … weighed more heavily in this conversation, though there is broad majority support for the act.
“We take our security and preparedness very seriously.
“I would say not despite that, but because of that, we are able to lead very normal lives here — regardless of the neighbor we have.”