Russia to Fortify 1,300 km Border With Finland Amid Fears of ‘Unfriendly Acts’

Russia has announced plans to strengthen its border with Finland by building new fortifications and barriers, citing fears of potential “unfriendly acts” from Helsinki, NATO’s newest member.

The move comes days after NATO opened a new regional land forces command center in Mikkeli, Finland, just 140 kilometers from the Russian border. 

Speaking after inspecting a border crossing at Svetogorsk, a town in Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region near the Finnish border, Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Moscow must prepare for potential “unfriendly acts” from Finland.  

He added that the Nordic nation’s accession to NATO requires changes to Russia’s military approach to the border. 

“We will in any case prepare for what has changed – and in our relations too. Because we cannot ignore the fact that Finland is currently a member of the North Atlantic Alliance,” Medvedev said. 

“Walls and barriers are being built. We need to increase the reliability of the protection of the state border,” he added. 

Last month, Helsinki also announced plans to fortify its border with Russia by constructing a 200-kilometer fence, expected to be completed by the end of 2026. 

Finland, along with Sweden, joined NATO in March 2024, ending decades of military non-alignment amid rising security concerns from Russia, which escalated following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. 

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