Finland counters Russian border maneuvers in northern highlands – POLITICO

Elizabeth Blow He is a Senior Associate Fellow at the European Leadership Network, an advisor at Gallos Technologies, and a regular columnist at POLITICO.

A game of cat and mouse is playing out in Europe’s northern highlands.

After Russia received a large number of migrants on its border with Finland in late November, Helsinki first closed some border crossings, then all border crossings. The border reopened a few weeks later, but Finland quickly closed it again when it became clear that Russia was organizing the entry of even more migrants.

Helsinki demonstrated the value of quick action. Eliminating boredom is the best tool the West has against Russia’s innovative aggression.

By November 22 last year, nearly 1,000 Russian-backed migrants without Finnish visas had appeared at the Finnish border. While certainly not an overwhelming number, it is an unacceptable effort by Russia to sow chaos and uncertainty.

In response, Finland quickly closed most of its border crossings, leaving only the northernmost one in the Arctic. But Russia was undaunted and retaliated by bringing in migrants. Therefore, the Finnish government also closed this crossing. That was November 28, and, as any responsible democratic government would do, the city of Helsinki specified a closure period of about two weeks.

It seemed like it would work. Borders were closed and migrants stopped arriving. But when Finland reopened its two borders in December, asylum seekers resurfaced. “Everyone is given a bicycle.” [by the Russian authorities], many of which are children’s bicycles. Several more bicycles can be seen loaded into cars parked on the premises,” reported Barents Observer, who saw a Telegram video by one of the migrants.

“We are a free democracy and we said we would open the checkpoints on December 14th. So the Russians just waited until we opened the checkpoints,” said the former head of Finnish military intelligence. said retired Major General Pekka Tver, who was recently elected to parliament. The Finnish Parliament told me. “However, the border agreement we have with Russia requires 24 hours’ notice before border closures. 24 hours is a long time. You can do it,” he said.

And that’s exactly what happened. Shortly after, on December 15, when Helsinki closed its borders again, more than 200 asylum seekers had already turned themselves in to Finnish border guards.

The Finnish-Russian border will remain closed until January 14th. Of course, if Finnish authorities then cautiously reopen some of their borders, they are likely to encounter asylum seekers brought in by Russian authorities again. Genuine migrants cannot afford to wait weeks on the Finnish-Russian border.

But Helsinki’s determination resolved, at least temporarily, what could have been an intractable problem. Although the border closure was a major inconvenience for Finns who needed to travel to Russia, especially for ethnic Russians living in Finland,

In fact, several of them immediately took to the streets to express their anger. “It’s your fault! And NATO’s fault. Why would this be Putin’s or Russia’s fault? It’s your fault,” said Marzan Khakimova, a Russian who has lived in Finland for 30 years. He told Finnish Public Broadcasting that he wanted to visit his sister in Finland.

As night comes to day, if Finland continues to close its borders, some ethnic Russians living in Finland will continue their destructive protests. This makes the Kremlin’s weaponization of migrants doubly sophisticated. By sending illegal immigrants to Finland’s borders, the Kremlin creates a threat against Finland, which Helsinki has to respond to, and as a result, Finland’s response provokes the anger of Russian residents who insist on their rights. I will do it. Infringed.

“If you close the borders for a long time, they’ll try something else,” Tveri said. “They will continue to act and we will continue to react. They are already using Russians living in Finland to discredit Finland.”

In fact, the Kremlin doesn’t stop there. In a television interview in mid-December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: claimed Finland has announced it will be “drawn” into NATO and recreate what was once the Leningrad Military District. Hours later, Finland signed a defense cooperation agreement with the United States, giving the United States access to 15 military facilities within the country, although not the ones closest to the border.

This gave the Kremlin an excuse to take other hybrid measures against Finland. And Mr. Tver believes that one of the most likely strategies Russia is using to lure migrants into the unfenced, forested areas of its border.

In fact, the situation is bleak for Finland, and not just in terms of daylight hours. But Russia’s continued testing is also a sign that Helsinki is doing something right. The Finnish government showed decisiveness and speed by closing its borders not once but twice. The country’s political decision-makers are always prepared, preparing documents to help authorities implement government decisions as quickly as possible.

Many other countries will instead respond idly and only after serious damage has occurred. And if Russia tries other tactics to destabilize Finland, it is certain that the Finnish government will react quickly, thereby making it even more difficult to achieve true destabilization. Dew.

The Finns also have a good habit of wargaming potential crisis situations involving Russia and have good interagency cooperation. For example, the Finnish Defense Forces are helping border guards erect fences and obstacles at crossings, and police are also assisting border guards with crowd control.

Of course, a response within just a few hours to Russia’s hybrid activities may be too much for most governments to expect. But at least that should be their purpose.