Suffer with a fence: Finland wants to permanently leave a fence along the border with the Russian Federation

The fence on the border of Russia and Finland, which Helsinki plans to erect in 2026, will remain in place even if the situation in Ukraine is resolved, MEP, Finnish Army General Pekka Toveri told Izvestia. At the same time, Finland is experiencing a crisis: prices are rising in the country, and the highest unemployment rate in recent years has been recorded. The eastern part of the country is suffering primarily due to the severance of ties with Moscow, the Russian Embassy in Helsinki told Izvestia.

How the Finns are building a fence with Russia

Finland has been building a fence on the border with the Russian Federation since 2023. The authorities are now completing the next stage of construction of the barrier. The 200-kilometer fence will cost the country several hundred million euros, but the exact figure has not been disclosed. The work is being carried out at an accelerated pace and, as stated in Helsinki, will be fully completed by the end of 2026. Finland has no plans to build a fence along the entire 1,300-kilometer border with Russia due to lack of funds.

At the same time, the fence will remain in place even in the event of a settlement of the situation in Ukraine, the MEP, Finnish army General Pekka Toveri, told Izvestia.

— We have no plans to demolish the fence, even if peace comes to Ukraine, even if relations with Russia improve at least a little. We know that in Russian society, a decade is a very short time for any positive changes. Therefore, we do not think that we will see any positive changes in Russian society in the near future," he said.

The fence is built strong enough to withstand the most adverse weather conditions in the region, Pekka Toveri emphasized.

For the first time, the Finnish Interior Ministry announced plans to install barriers in areas on the border with the Russian Federation in order to prepare for the fight against "hybrid threats" in 2022. The construction of the fence itself began in 2023. At the same time, the Finnish government began to restrict border crossings, explaining its actions by combating the uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries coming from Russia. Helsinki claimed that Russia was involved in organizing the influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. The Russian side has denied these accusations. The FSB of the Russian Federation noted that the crisis was provoked by the Finnish authorities themselves. They stressed that shortly before the influx of migrants, information was spread online about Helsinki's readiness to provide asylum to all foreigners, "including those who arrived in the republic illegally," but the data turned out to be unreliable.

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Large-scale naval maneuvers in Finland began immediately after the completion of artillery firing there.

Meanwhile, the fence on the Russian border is planned to be equipped with cameras with artificial intelligence and loudspeakers. Moreover, they will be installed every 20 m of fencing. Earlier it was reported that the height of the fence will be increased to 4.5 m, and the fence itself will become denser.

— Finland is indeed continuing the intensive construction of barriers on the border. We consider this project as one of the elements of the course of the Finnish authorities towards the formation of new dividing lines in Europe and maximum isolation from Russia," the Russian Embassy in the republic told Izvestia.

Helsinki is suffering from a breakdown in ties with Moscow

In 2022, Finland initiated the severance of almost all economic and business ties with Russia. Helsinki also suspended regular passenger traffic between our countries, and introduced discriminatory restrictions on the issuance of visas to Russian citizens.

In 2023, Finnish exports to Russia decreased by 68.9% compared to 2021, reaching €1.2 billion. In the first half of 2024, it increased by another 19.3% compared to the same period in 2023. It is worth emphasizing that Russia was one of the largest importing countries for Finland. The Finnish regions are suffering because of Helsinki's course.

— The eastern regions of Finland, whose development largely depended on ties with Russia, plunged into a deep crisis and became one of the most depressed regions of the country. The national economy is still unable to recover from the shocks caused by the decisions of the last three years. Unemployment has reached record levels. The rapid growth of the national debt continued," the Russian Embassy stressed.

They also noted that as a result of the actions of the Finnish authorities, thousands of citizens of the two countries were deprived of the opportunity to maintain contact with their families and friends who remained on the other side of the border. Apparently, the voices of activists trying to defend their rights are not heard in Helsinki.

In October 2025, the unemployment rate rose to 10.3%, the highest level since 2000. The eastern regions of the country found themselves in the most difficult situation. At the end of 2024, the Finnish government allocated a total of €7 million for their development.

For example, the Finnish border region of South Karelia is losing €1 million a day due to the absence of Russian tourists and employees, according to media reports. And the city of Imatra, located close to the border with Russia, is experiencing a large-scale crisis: shops are closing there, businesses are on the verge of bankruptcy, and the unemployment rate is already reaching 15%.

Of course, the decline in cooperation has affected the tourism industry throughout the country. According to the portal Statbase.ru In 2021, Russian travelers brought 1.1 billion euros to the Finnish economy. At the same time, in 2025, this figure is close to zero.

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The recession in the country turned out to be deeper and tougher than in Germany.

Of course, a number of industries across the country have also suffered, Vadim Trukhachev, Associate professor of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies at the Russian State University, tells Izvestia. Among them: mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, mining, construction and logistics companies, including ports.

— It is worth talking about the pulp and paper industry. We supplied Finland with significant amounts of roundwood, from which manufacturers already created paper there. Manufacturers of paints and household chemicals are also suffering due to restrictions on Russian supplies," he explained.

There have been repeated protests in Finland demanding that the border with Russia be at least partially opened. For example, a car rally was held in Lappeenranta in August. At least a hundred cars then proceeded to the closed Nuyamaa checkpoint. However, in October 2025, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo allowed the opening of borders with Russia in the future. However, it is unknown when this may happen.

Normalization of relations should not be expected in the near future, Trukhachev believes. The President of the Republic, Alexander Stubb, said earlier that the European Union would resume dialogue with Russia one way or another in the future. But now Finland belongs to the group of countries that are most hostile towards the Russian Federation. Therefore, for now Moscow is forced to react to unfriendly steps.

For example, on December 3, it became known that the Finnish Foreign Ministry received a note from the Russian Federation on the termination of two articles of the agreement on the energy use of the limited Svetogorskaya HPP and Imatra HPP of the Vuoksa River segment — the document has been in force since 1972. Due to Finland's unilateral termination of purchases of Russian electricity from April 4, 2022, Moscow is no longer obligated to carry out compensatory supplies.

The fact that Helsinki has joined NATO adds additional difficulties to bilateral relations. Vladimir Putin had previously said that there was no point in Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Alliance: Moscow posed no threat to Finland. However, now Russia is forced to further strengthen its borders in this part of the country and respond to the appearance of military infrastructure there, the head of the Russian Federation noted.