The Ministry of Defense of Finland has banned the sale of real estate to three Russians
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The Ministry of Defense of Finland has blocked three deals on the sale of real estate to Russian buyers. According to the department, the acquisition by Russian citizens of plots near the Finnish-Russian border may damage the country’s defense capabilities.
The two real estate objects in question were located in the Ruokolahti municipality, and one more in the Kitee municipality. To the east, both regions border Russia. Applicants for the purchase in two cases were Russian individuals, in the third – a company.
As explained by the Finnish media corporation Yle, from 2020 the Ministry of Defense of Finland is obliged to consider all applications for the purchase of real estate in the country by buyers from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area.
Earlier it was reported that the Ministry of Defense of Finland concludes agreements with the owners of land plots adjacent to the border with Russia, for the construction of defensive fortifications there and conducting exercises. After the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022, the number of such contracts increased sharply.
- Finland announced plans to build protective fences along the border with Russia in June last year. In addition, in order to strengthen the border, the country decided to increase the number of border guards, purchase new equipment for technical surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. The construction of fences began in February of this year.
- In addition to the perception of Russia as a source of military threat, Finland is also concerned about the possibility of “hybrid influence”, when a neighboring country uses waves of migration from third countries for the purpose of political pressure, as was the case in 2021 on the Belarusian-Polish border.
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