STOCKHOLM, September 14. /TASS/. Finland has completed construction on a pilot segment of a fence on the Russian border near the town of Imatra and officially put it into service, Yle TV and radio channel reports.

According to the Finnish Broadcasting Company, the main part of the construction has been completed and Finnish Border Guards are on duty along this section of the fence. Yle notes that there are some minor additions that still need to be made, but the main parts of the fence, including the barrier, adjacent road and surveillance systems, are already in place.

"We are now learning to use the fence," project manager Ismo Kurki told the TV channel. He said the fence itself was completed back in mid-August, but the country delayed putting it into operation to put some finishing touches on it.

In June 2022, Finland's Interior Ministry said the government plans to install fences "in critical areas on the eastern border [with Russia]" to prepare the country to deal with "threats of a hybrid nature," including the use of "the immigration issue to exert political pressure." In February, Finland began building a pilot segment of a three-kilometer fence on its border with Russia near the Imatra border crossing. The fence will be equipped with technical control systems.