- WIADOMOŚCI
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Russians are bypassing Finland’s fence. Moscow is building a foothold in the north
Photo. Finnish Border Guard / Wikimedia Commons
Finland is not facing mass infiltration by Russian soldiers across the border, but the problem cannot be reduced only to a few border incidents. Increasingly, these are people with military experience, who know how to move through difficult terrain, bypass the most protected sections and choose sparsely populated parts of the border. At the same time, Russia is expanding military infrastructure near Finland, even if much of this infrastructure remains empty today or only partially manned. This demonstrates that NATO’s northern border is an element of rivalry.
Interestingly, this is not about physically breaking through the Finnish fence, but about bypassing it. The barrier on the border with Russia covers only part of the more than 1,300-kilometre border, but where it has been built, it fulfils its deterrent function. Illegal migration has practically been stopped completely.
That is why people trying to enter Finland illegally are moving to more remote sections, above all in North Karelia, in the Ilomantsi and Tuupovaara area. This is not proof of weakness in the Finnish system, but rather confirmation that the fence changes the way those trying to enter the country outside official crossing points operate.
The scale of the phenomenon remains limited, because in 2026 only 10 people are believed to have entered Finland illegally from Russia, in seven separate cases, and some of those incidents concerned precisely sparsely populated forest areas. The Finnish Border Guard stresses that all the individuals were detained and that there is no information that anyone this year passed through the surveillance system unnoticed.
The significance of migration from Russia
The most important change concerns who the detained individuals are. According to the Finnish Border Guard, more and more people trying to enter Finland from Russia have military experience. Such individuals are better able to move through the forest, orient themselves in difficult terrain and consciously choose routes far from border infrastructure. Some are fleeing conscription or deployment to the front, while others have taken part in military operations in Ukraine.
Finland must determine at the same time whether a given person needs protection from Russia, whether he possesses information relevant to the services, whether he may pose a counterintelligence risk, and whether his military past requires examination in terms of responsibility for acts committed in Ukraine.
Helsinki wants to preserve the ability to receive people who are genuinely fleeing the Russian apparatus of coercion, but it cannot assume that every Russian soldier or former soldier is a victim of the system. Under greater migratory pressure, the verification process will become much more difficult and more burdensome for the services.
Russia is building in the north
The problem of migration must be connected with military movements near the Finnish border. A significant part of Russia’s ground forces is currently concentrated on the war against Ukraine, but Moscow is simultaneously expanding military infrastructure near Finland. In many places, these are empty buildings and installations intended to demonstrate Russian presence. In others, it is infrastructure without full personnel manning, a rear base that may be used later.
Finland is watching closely as Russia develops its presence more and more, day by day. Importantly, it does not have a military character, but it creates concern and uncertainty. Every migrant crossing is a test. So is every additional Russian building: a point to observe. The Finns know that this rivalry with the Kremlin is only beginning.
