Finland’s 1,340-kilometer border with Russia includes the Vartius crossing, which it has reinforced with the help of soldiers.
After Helsinki decided to close the southern entry ports due to accusations that Russia is “funnelling” refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries to the Finnish border, Varius is one of the four crossings that is still open.
The border area at the Vartius border station in Kuhmo is being temporarily enclosed by walls. The Border Guard announced on X (previously Twitter) on Sunday that the Defence Forces assist the Border Guard in construction activities and that the soldiers were not involved in border control.
According to Juoki Kinnunen, the director of the border station, the military is building temporary security barriers at the crossing, as reported by Finnish TV Yle.
Citing the need to stop an influx of asylum seekers, Finland closed the entrance crossings at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra, and Niirala on Saturday. An increase in unauthorised crossings, particularly those by migrants from Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, was reported by the authorities.
“A crystal-clear message to Russia,” according to Finnish Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen, who said that Russia is exploiting refugees to “accelerate the migrant crisis in Europe and destabilise its unity.” Mari Rantanen, the interior minister, countered that Moscow might be “irritated by something in Finland’s activities.”
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Some Finns, especially those who hold dual citizenship and are Russian residents, opposed the plan to block the border. According to Euronews, several hundred people demonstrated against the new “Iron Curtain” on Sunday in Helsinki.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, dismissed the claims that migration is being weaponized as “utterly baseless.”
In modern memory, Finland has never been threatened by Russia. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated this week that closing the border crossings would be “a big mistake” on Helsinki’s behalf. “We did not have a reason for confrontation,” Peskov said.
Finland placed sanctions on Russia due to its ongoing conflict with Ukraine, just like every other member state of the EU did. In April 2023, Finland renounced its long-standing non-aligned status and became a member of NATO. On the other hand, Russia has consistently identified one of the main reasons for the present tensions with NATO as the US-led military bloc’s ongoing eastward expansion.
