Reuters World News - The hardening of NATO's northern frontier

Episode Date: July 12, 2025

Along the border of Finland and Russia, tensions reminiscent of the Cold War have resurfaced. We visit the forested 832-mile frontier, Europe’s longest with Russia. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠here⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠here⁠. Find the Recommended Read ⁠here⁠. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A shooting range in Finland, and members of voluntary reservist forces practicing their skills. This is Lappenranta and it's just 10 miles from the Russian border, a border that is now closed. Since Moscow's full invasion of Ukraine prompted Finland to join NATO two years ago, tensions reminiscent of the Cold War have resurfaced in Finland. But those tensions go back further than the Cold War, to World War II and beyond. On this episode of Reuters World News, we look at how the Ukraine War has brought these old wounds and concerns to the surface, how it's impacted Finland and its population,

and why joining NATO was seen as so important. And we hear how the country's military is readying itself for conflict, and look at how that closed border has hit once booming businesses, and torn families apart. I'm David Spencer in London. And I'm Anne Kauronan in Helsinki. I was born and raised in eastern Finland, just an hour's drive from the Russian border.

Growing up, Russia always felt physically very near, but mentally very far, less so now. In my role as a journalist, the last two years have been dominated by Russia and the growing tensions between the two countries, between the two countries. For this story, I wanted to get a sense of how this has affected people living in areas like Eastern Finland where I grew up.

And whether Russia's shadow is now more keenly felt. We are driving to the Finnish-Russian border to Nuyamawa border crossing near the town of Lappen Ranta in eastern Finland. So in May, we travel to an area of the country where it's just 100 miles from Russia's second city, St. Petersburg. It's one of the areas where the Finnish are building a new border fence. Despite all the trees and a nearby lake, this is really an imposing place. There is a barbed wire fence that dominates the area, which was once a bustling section of the border. After World War II, Finland gradually opened trade and travel connections with Russia.

During the height of good relations between the two, there were up to 13 million cross-border trips each year. Now there are none. The E-18 motorway that links Helsinki and St. Petersburg ends abruptly at metal barricades. So it's a huge project nationally. If you think about the whole eastern border, we have the longest border of all the EU states with Russia, 1,340 kilometers. The fence will only encompass around 200 kilometers in total. While at the border, I met Southeast Finland Border Guard head of operations, Samuel Silyan. He tells me that the fence is needed after an increase in undocumented migrants arriving in Finland,

was seen in 2023. Around 1,300 people from countries like Syria and Somalia had arrived that year at the Finnish border via Russia to ask for asylum. Finland accused Russia of orchestrating the influx. Moscow denied that it was behind the migrant inflows and said it deeply regretted Helsinki's decision to shut the border crossings. It said the move reflected an anti-Russian stance. We still maintain an open line of communication with our Russian counterparts.

If there are border incidents, each border incident is discussed with the Russians, we can have joint investigations, regardless of the ongoing or prevailing situation. When the border was closed a year and a half ago, it was hardly visible. It was mostly marked by poles or a low barrier to keep domestic animals from wandering off off with a small trail for occasional canine patrols to follow. Samuel Toland the changes have made a big impact, and now no migrants are arriving this way. We've moved kind of from an era of de-bordering to one of re-bordering.

And changes are not just taking place on the Finnish side of the border. Satellite images show that Russia has slowly begun dusting off Soviet-era military bases in the region. Ukraine's attack at the start of June on Russia's strategic bomber fleet included a strike at the Olenya airfield, which is close to northern Finland. I think the view today from Russia about Finland is rather a negative one, frankly. My name is Andrew Osborne. I am Reuters, Russia chief political correspondent. But that negative feeling about Finland hasn't always been the case for Moscow. As Andrew explains, as neighbours, their history has been closely

intertwined, and that's visible in Finland even today. In the 19th century, for example, so-called autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, it was actually part of the Russian Empire. In the 20th century, Finland and the then Soviet Union have fought at least twice, and indeed Finland lost a big chunk of territory to the Soviet Union. And then during the Cold War, you saw Finland adopt this position of neutrality, and it tried to cultivate close relations with Moscow. But you've got reminders of the past in Finland, for example,

one of them would be this giant orthodox cathedral in Helsinki that looms over the city that was built on the orders of a Russian Tsar, you know, in the 19th century. So yes, the history of these two places is closely linked. Russia and Finland each insist they pose no threat to the other. Indeed, Finnish President Alexander Stubb has said some level of Russian buildup is a normal response to Helsinki's accession to NATO. But a Finnish government defense report late last year did describe a heightened risk of an armed conflict. It said that Moscow has ambitions to create a buffer zone from the Arctic

all the way to southern Europe. In response to a request for comment, Russia's foreign ministry called for a return to cooperation and friendship. It said Finland should avoid rash provocations that could lead to a direct military clash between Russia and NATO and called military preparations near its border alarming. The ministry said Moscow would respond proportionately to the aggressive military build-up of the North Atlantic Alliance. That has Finns watching the border very closely. For Finland, the Ukraine war has felt close to home

ever since the full invasion in 2022. This is only 16 kilometers to Russia from here. And that makes you think. What if they decide to come to this side of border as well? Just like they went to Ukraine without telling them, without, or just like they came here in 1939. My name is Janella Lattam. We're at the Muka shooting range in Lapperno. Janone is a 47-year-old military reservist that I met at the shooting range.

He is a Nordic blonde with a broad smile, but he had this steely nerve that was underlined by his calm accuracy on the firing range. Like all men over 18 in Finland, he had to complete military service. The defense forces is based on universal male conscription. Men are liable to serve either six, nine or 12 months. Some 24,000 conscripts are trained annually and 65% of Finnish men complete their service. I have seen that enough clothes to see that we are very ready for everything. But we're not so straight about it.

We don't advertise it. And that's a good thing because it makes us weak if we tell everything to everyone. You might say Finland really is ready for the worst. and to protect its 5.5 million population is needed. Two years ago, Finland completed an inventory of its bomb shelters, a count prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And it found that the country has 50,500 of them. That's enough space to fit 4.8 million people in, in case of an emergency or an attack.

Solid stick. This one are solid steel. The bigger ones are, as we call them, skeleton. Emergency planning officer Tommy Rusk giving a tour of one of those underground facilities in Helsinki back in 2022. The shelters are equipped with ventilators, impervious doors, stackable beds, all required by a law that was introduced in 1939. At the moment, some of these shelters house swimming pools, sports centres, or as in, the very north of the country, a Santa Claus theme park to ensure their upkeep. In late June, Finland's parliament voted to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, another sign of concerns over the military threat posed by Russia.

But whilst this underlines a willingness and ability by Finland to repel any attack, the impact on the border closure and decaying ties with Russia can be seen clearly. clearly in shopping malls and restaurants that Anna saw during this trip. The vanishing Russian tourists and dearth of trade has taken at least 300 million euros annually from a 5.5 billion euro local economy, according to the South Karelia Regional Council. Unemployment soared close to 15% at the end of last year, higher than the national average.

The emerging divisions have also divided families, with some people unable to visit their relatives. While we were in Lappenranta, we met Axana Serebriakova. She's a Russian citizen who is living in Finland, and she kindly offered as a cup of strong Russian-style coffee and some homemade muffins in her apartment that she actually shares with her son and their dog and cat. had. Aksana is 50 years old and she moved here from Moscow after the pandemic. She brought her

17-year-old son Vitalik, but her older son and the boyce's father, they stayed in Russia. The border closer has effectively split the family. She calls it a very sad situation and she said, the migration issue, it could have been solved differently. She tells me that the flow of migrants, it had to stop, but instead of closing the border, they could have kept trains and buses running with strict checks at entry points similar to airports. And not everyone agrees with the border closure.

Ivan Dieveckin, a local politician who has a son in Finland and an aging mother in Russia, unsuccessfully challenged it in Finland's courts. Nine plaintiffs now have a complaint pending at the European Court of Human Rights, which has asked Finland to justify the shutdown. When I was in Latvian Ranta, I also met with some local entrepreneurs, and the streets, they definitely seemed emptier. And I met with Janne Tarwinen, who owns an antique store there. And he said the difference is really significant.

He tells me that when Russians were still coming, parking spaces were really tight, restaurants were always full, and it was really good for entrepreneurs. And he said that money was coming in. to the town and his customers were always really friendly. Janne's business has survived the shock and he was around to tell us his story, but some other entrepreneurs have already had to close down their business, so with their businesses closed, they've left the area.

We're back at the shooting range and Janne Lato is testing a drone to hone his skills that Ukraine war has taught him to believe would be vital during conflict. It's equipment that reservists could use if called up. These reservists are voluntary, although most have completed their national service. More than 50,000 Finns take part in clubs like this, up by about a third since the Ukraine War began, according to the Finnish Reservists Association. Even older members of Lato's band of volunteers could see service in a crisis, as Finland raises the reservist's upper age limit to 65, to add 125,000 troops to a wartime army, and to take the number of reservists to 1 million by 2031.

You can be a drone operator or some other, like radar operator. They can be old people. It might even be a good thing that they're older. They have this experience of life. we don't have. This highlights what the government sees as a need for extra military resource in Finland. And joining NATO was key to securing that extra resource and support. So I'm Brigadier Chris Gent, and I am the Deputy Chief of Staff for Transformation

in NATO's Land Command headquarters. So back in Helsinki, I met with Chris Gent, who had just returned from Miquely, in Eastern Finland, where a new... NATO Land Force Headquarters will be located. The headquarter will host around 50 officers from countries, including the US and UK, together with the Finnish Army command, that is about a two-hour drive from the border. The land border with Russia has got much bigger since Finnish accession.

And so this headquarters, in the event that we ever moved into a conflict, this headquarters would be working alongside NATO forces in a command and control role that, be deployed into the region. The enlargement of NATO has angered Russia and affected relations with Finland. Behind the border, satellite images show Russia beginning some work on garrisons, including building new warehouses. A senior government official aware of Finland's military planning described that as minor and not a threat. But as I have seen on this trip, Finland is ready, should there be any escalation? It's on time for reinforcing the border and strengthening its reserves,

and it's ordered 64 US-made F-35s to modernise its fighter jet fleet. Finland has the largest artillery arsenal in Western Europe, according to one official Anna spoke to. At NATO's June summit, it was agreed that six NATO member states, including Britain and France, will contribute to land forces that to be a state, established in northern Finland. Finnish defense minister and Harkinen welcomed the plans and told us in May why it's so important. Well, our ambition is of course that we have always took the Russian threat seriously throughout the history.

That's why we are always keeping our national defense in a good shape. Large research, armies and high-end capabilities, F-35s and a lot of firepower and artillery and all the stuff. When we joined NATO, of course, we were willing to push forward NATO. Well, sources that I spoke to about the Finnish military defenses requested anonymity to speak about sensitive matters. And sensitive is really what sums up this situation for Finland and those also on the Russian border. For me, it's hard to believe that just 13 years ago in 2012,

Finland's previous president, Saoli Ninister played ice hockey with Russian president Vladimir Putin. And before Russia's invasion of Crimea in 2014, there was an active discussion in Finland about the possibility of allowing visa-free travel between the two countries. Now that has changed completely. A big thank you to everyone that helped on this story. That is Tom Little, Leon Hartferger and Frank Jack Daniel. Thanks to the podcast team. Sound design, music, composition and engineering on this episode was by Alexander Sommer.

Our podcast team also includes Kim Vanel, Carmel Crimmons, Tara Oaks, Gail Issa, Christopher Waljjasper, Jonah Green, Bill Kasul-Laboran and Sharon Reichgarsen. Our executive producer is Lila de Kretzer. Remember, for all your daily news, check out our weekday show Reuters World News. You can catch it on the Reuters app or wherever you listen to your podcasts.