Russia puts NATO under pressure on Finnish border
It seems like déjà vu all over again: numerous migrants are being shipped to a NATO border and encouraged to cross. What led to turmoil between Belarus and Poland in 2021 is now being repeated in Finland. The ISW sees this as an attempt by Russia to destabilize NATO.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia is using a well-known tactic of hybrid warfare to artificially create a migrant crisis on the Finnish border. The US experts write in their daily situation report on the war in Ukraine that the approach is similar to the incidents on the Polish border with Belarus in 2021 and is probably aimed at destabilizing NATO in a similar way.
ISW has previously stated that the Kremlin facilitated or possibly directly directed the artificial creation of a migrant crisis on the Belarusian border with Poland when Belarusian security forces helped thousands of migrants from the Middle East cross the border. According to the report, the Kremlin used the staged crisis at the time to falsely accuse NATO of aggression against Belarus. At the time, Western countries accused Belarus of retaliating against EU sanctions.
The Finnish authorities closed four checkpoints on the south-eastern border with Russia last weekend after the Finnish Border Guard reported that an influx of around 300 asylum seekers, mainly from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and Syria, had arrived at the Finnish border from Russia since September. Finland joined NATO in April, which provoked a strong reaction in Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatened at the time that Russia would take any "countermeasures" it deemed necessary to ensure its security.
The US think tank lists several media reports that shed light on the latest developments on the Finnish-Russian border. The Reuters news agency wrote on Sunday that dozens of migrants had arrived at the closed Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa border crossings and gathered around a campfire in sub-zero temperatures. The newspaper "Iltalehti" reported on Monday that the Finnish authorities were considering closing the entire border with Russia tonight (Tuesday). This did not happen. Russia and Finland share a 1340-kilometer land border.
Moscow: "We do not accept such accusations"
According to ISW, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said a week ago that Russian border guards were escorting or transporting migrants to the Finnish border. In response, the Finnish government stated that there were indications that "foreign authorities or other actors" had played a role in helping people to cross the border illegally.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported on Sunday that the head of the currently still open Vartius checkpoint, Jouko Kinnunen, stated that Russian border officials pushed the migrants to the Finnish side of the barrier and then closed the Russian border barriers behind them. The ISW concludes: "It is unlikely that these migrants would voluntarily stay at the Finnish border in sub-zero temperatures after being denied entry to Finland by Finnish border authorities, indicating that Russia is likely involved in the situation in some way."
Russia rejected such accusations on Monday. "We do not accept such accusations," said Peskov in Moscow. "Border crossings are used by those who have the right to do so," he added. He described the Finnish accusations as "far-fetched". He accused Helsinki of having adopted a "clear Russophobic stance". Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned Finland against closing the remaining four border crossings. Such a decision would "run counter to Finland's interests".
Relations between the countries have deteriorated significantly since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. In April, Finland joined NATO after decades of neutrality in the alliance. The leadership in Moscow condemned this as an "attack on Russia's security". Up to now, Finland's borders have mainly been secured with light wooden fences, which are primarily intended to keep livestock in the country. However, the country of 5.5 million inhabitants is currently building a 200-kilometre-long fence along part of the Finnish-Russian border. It is due to be completed in 2026.
- In light of Finland's recent joining of NATO and Russia's subsequent condemnation, the situation on the Finnish-Russian border has become precarious, with allegations of Russian border guards assisting migrants to illegally cross into Finland, potentially aiming to destabilize NATO, much like the situation at the Belarus-Poland border in 2021.
- The escalating tensions between Russia and Finland over migrants at the border raise concerns, especially given Russia's denial of involvement and Finland's construction of a 200-kilometer fence to secure its border, echoing similar actions after Russia's attack on Ukraine and its subsequent annexation of Crimea.
Source: www.ntv.de
