Finland Strengthens New NATO Front Line Border: Infographics

Finland has officially become a member of NATO and has begun construction of a high security fence 130-260km long on its border with Russia.

The country, which shares a 1,340km border with Russia, NATO’s longest frontier with the Russian Federation, applied to join the military alliance in the wake of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine last year, abandoning a longstanding policy of military nonalignment. Turkey’s parliament ratified approval of the Finnish application in March, but has yet to agree on a parallel application by Nordic neighbours Sweden.

Construction of the border fence pilot project in Imatra, southeast Finland, should be completed by summer 2023, with the entire fence finished in 3-4 years. It will be mainly concentrated in the southeast of the country to assist border control in the event of Russia relaxing its own exit controls.