According to Suppo, the eastern neighbor, with which it shares a border of 1,340 km, considers Finland “an unfriendly state and a target for espionage and malicious influence.”
“Although counterintelligence work, the deployment of intelligence officers and a strict visa policy allowed Finland to weaken conditions for Russian spies last year, intelligence operations remain a threat,” the Finnish intelligence agency said in a statement.
Critical infrastructure and cyber environments are believed to be particularly susceptible to Russian influence and espionage operations.
Last year’s incident, when the anchor of a Chinese ship damaged an underwater pipeline in Finnish waters, showed how vulnerable critical infrastructure is.
Supo also said he believed Russia would continue to use “immigration as a weapon” to show “its displeasure with Finland’s NATO membership” and “the consequences of actions that Russia considers unfriendly.”
Finland closed four of its eight border crossings with Russia in November and closed the rest by the end of the month in response to an influx of asylum seekers.
Although Finland partially relaxed the closure after that, on December 14 it again decided to close the entire border.
Helsinki says Russia orchestrated the influx of asylum seekers, calling it a “hybrid attack”.
“It’s a long-term threat, it’s an easy way for Russia to keep Finland under pressure,” Supo interim director Teemu Turunen said.
The Finnish border will remain closed until at least April 14. Meanwhile, the Finnish government is preparing a draft law that would allow “restriction of the acceptance of applications for international protection” in some territories.
While several European countries warned of an increased threat of terrorism last year, Finland’s agency said its terrorism threat level remained at second on a four-point scale and expected to remain so throughout 2024.
Tags: Finnish intelligence Russias actions pose biggest threat countrys security
