in Finland, the specter of Russian aggression at the heart of the European elections

Finland shares 1,380 km of border with Russia, and today lives under threat from its big neighbor.

The link between Finland and Russia has been completely severed for almost six months. The Vaalima border crossing, located in southern Finland, between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, saw some two million people pass through each year; it is now dead calm. “This border crossing has been closed since December 15, due to irregular immigration implemented by the Russian Federation,” explains Lieutenant Jesse Pirttinen, deputy chief of the border police.

The Finns accuse the Russians of having sent hundreds of migrants and of waging “a hybrid war”. “Here, we have Frontex personnel, notably French gendarmescontinues Lieutenant Pirttinen, so it’s not just about Finland… It’s a European issue.”

Vladimir Putin recently deployed men and what he calls “destruction systems” at the border, which does not reassure the Finns who live right next door, like Seppo and Marrit, retirees who have a very pretty house on the edge of a forest. “I’m not afraid at the moment, but I sure don’t want there to be war, I don’t want Russia to attack heresaid Marrit. But I am calm. Afterwards, I won’t hide from you that every evening, I still check that the doors are closed, and that no one is there. !” Her husband adds that if Finland had not joined NATO, there would have already been an attack.

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Finns were largely against entry into NATO; now they are preparing. Arms sales are clearly increasing, and the country plans to open no less than 300 new shooting ranges in the interest of national defense, because these places are already overcrowded. Antti Kettenen, president of the reservists’ association in Vantaa, near Helskinki, confirms: “In my club, we had 912 new members in spring 2022, our attendance doubled in four months, because of what happened in Ukraine.” For him, knowing how to handle a weapon is like learning to swim: “If you’re thrown from a boat, you have to get to shore. If you can’t swim, tell me how you do it ? So if you can get a shotgun, it’s better than nothing, better than rocks and sticks.” Finns are encouraged to continue to use weapons, even after military service (compulsory for men):

“In Finland, all the guys you met today are in the army. Even when you go to the grocery store, the guy who served you cigarettes knows how to shoot a bazooka!”

Antti Kettenen

at franceinfo

In this shooting range, there are many reservists but also women and young people, like Nouti: at 18, he will begin his military service this summer, and he is ready, as is his whole family. “We have a stock of water and food to last 72 hours at home, he said, and I also mentally prepared myself for the fact that I could potentially go to war within the next ten years.”

The underground of Helsinki is full of shelters: there are more places in these underground spaces than inhabitants in the capital. In each of these shelters, a first door protects against explosions, a second against chemicals. In the event of an attack, this place, where there is a sports field, a bar, a parking lot, can be transformed in 72 hours to accommodate 6,000 people, explains Tuula Luoma, from civil defense. 2,000 camp beds are already ready: “It’s better to buy them nowsays Tuula Luoma, it costs less and in an emergency there is no availability problem.”

There is water, air that can be filtered… The Finns have really thought of everything, and they are putting in the resources: security and defense are the only budget items that have not been reviewed on the decline.