Finland has started construction of a planned 200-kilometer fence on its border with Russia near the Imatra-Svitogirsk border crossing, the country's border guard said on Tuesday, as Helsinki fears Moscow could use migrant flows at the border for political purposes.
Work on the site will begin on Tuesday "with the clearing of the forest and will continue so that road construction and fencing can begin in March," the Finnish border guard said in a statement.
The three-kilometer pilot project at the southeastern border crossing in Imatra is expected to be completed by the end of June.
Construction of another 70 kilometers, mostly in southeastern Finland, will take place between 2023 and 2025.
In total, Finland plans to fence 200 kilometers of its 1300-kilometer border with Russia at a cost of about 380 million euros (about $400 million).
Earlier, the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, stated that the project is aimed at improving the border control and security of the country. Among other things, such measures will help fight against illegal migration.
