Finland Weighs Ukrainian-Style Anti-Tank Ditches on Russian Border

In brief

• Finland is considering anti-tank barriers modelled on Ukrainian designs along its border with Russia.
• The army commander says Russia is rebuilding its military potential after nearly five years of war in Ukraine.
• The border is 1,340 km long, about half of NATO's land border with Russia, and Finland must test such structures in harsh northern weather.

Finland studies Ukrainian-style barriers

Finland is examining whether to build anti-tank obstacles similar to those Ukraine has used against Russian forces, according to Bloomberg (ЗМІ: Фінляндія може встановити протитанкові загородження за зразком України – Європейська правда) (Финляндия изучает возможность использования противотанковых рвов на границе с РФ – gazeta.press). The idea is aimed at strengthening the border with Russia and the eastern flank of NATO.

Army chief points to Russian rebuilding

Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki, commander of the Finnish army, said Russia has already started to rebuild its military potential, even though its full-scale invasion of Ukraine is entering its fifth year. He said Ukrainian forces used layered defensive lines and anti-tank barriers to slow attackers, and that Russian troops found no reliable way through them to resume large-scale movement and manoeuvre.

Harsh northern conditions

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, roughly half of NATO's land border with that country. Välimäki said Finland must determine how such structures would hold up under severe northern weather. He asked how quickly the local environment would turn deep trenches into artificial ponds.

Russian equipment deliveries

Välimäki said Russia's efforts to replenish its arms stocks are beginning to show results, with T-90 tanks, BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and 2S19 self-propelled howitzers reaching depots. He said Finland cannot prevent this rearmament.

Wider army reorganisation

Finland is reorganising its land forces, a process expected to run until the end of the 2030s and to affect equipment and structure. Välimäki also said the country must build a barrier that stops Russian advances, whether aimed at the alliance or at Finland itself, and that NATO's eastern flank should be able to strike missile and drone launch systems before they fire at targets on its territory.

Key figures

• Length of Finland–Russia border: 1,340 km
• Share of NATO's land border with Russia: about half
• Russian vehicles reported arriving at depots: T-90 tanks, BMP-3 vehicles, 2S19 howitzers