Illegal smuggling of cars is occurring through Finnish customs into Russia, according to a new investigation by Finnish Yle. The state channel has placed transmitters on car transports heading into Russia and observed that they have remained in the country.
Swedish Yle has received tips that new cars are being loaded onto cargo ships in Germany, shipped to Finland, and then smuggled into Russia, which violates the EU sanctions imposed last year. With the help of transmitters attached to the car transports crossing the border, they have been able to track the cars’ journey through Russia.
It is still legal to transport cars through Russia, where they may often be headed to Central Asia, but it is illegal for the cars to remain in the country. Finnish customs often do not inspect all transports.
– We cannot inspect every load because traffic and trade would come to a halt, Sami Rakshit, head of the Customs Surveillance Department, told Yle.
Transmitters were placed on a car transport driving from Vaalimaa in two different cars, a dark blue BMW X3 and a white Lexus RX350. Their journey could then be tracked through an app. The dark blue car eventually ended up in the Siberian city of Tomsk, where it also remained, leading to assumptions that it was sold and is being used by its new owner. The white car was ultimately found at a car dealership, also in Tomsk, where it was reportedly sold for close to 100,000 euros.
The white Lexus was listed on a Russian car website and sold through an export company in Canada. However, the company denies doing business with Russia because it is “under sanctions”, but the car dealer in Tomsk confirms that the car came from there.
– There were no problems importing the white Lexus. At least four companies were involved in the transport, the Russian car company DeLux-Auto Logistic told Yle.
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Five European countries – Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – have announced plans to withdraw from the 1997 Ottawa Convention, which bans anti-personnel mines.
However, the decisions have been met with strong criticism from human rights organizations and survivors, who warn that it is civilians who will suffer the most.
In mid-April, Latvia became the first country to formally vote to leave the treaty, which has over 165 signatories. The decision is described as a historic step backwards by those working to combat the use of mines.
– It feels like a punch to the face, said Zoran Ješić in an interview with The Guardian. He lost his right leg to a mine during the Bosnian War and now heads UDAS, an organization for landmine survivors.
– Antipersonnel landmines do horrible things to innocent people. They belong to a small group of weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, that are so abhorrent they must never be used again, he continues.
Ješić was 21 years old and a soldier in the Bosnian army when he stepped on a mine in a forest.
– As I later heard, it was our mine. The point is that when you put a mine in the ground, you never know what will happen. Will it wait for your soldiers, your civilians or the enemies? Usually, it hurts your people.
“It’s about the norms of war”
And the statistics confirm his claims. Every year, 70-85% of all those killed or injured by mines are civilians. Almost half of the victims are children – a reminder of the weapons’ inability to distinguish between combatants and innocent people.
Alma Taslidžan from Humanity & Inclusion, an organization working with disabled and vulnerable groups, expresses concern that the decisions could create a dangerous domino effect:
– This is really a tipping point for us. It’s not only about landmines. It is about the norms that are written for the situation of wartimes – we’re afraid this is going to create a wave of weakening the international humanitarian law that has the first obligation to protect civilians.
In March, the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland published a joint declaration referring to the war in Ukraine and increased security threats.
– With this decision, we are sending a clear message: our countries are prepared and can use every necessary measure to defend our security needs, the statement read.
Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia have announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines. pic.twitter.com/cwrgTYZRTl
Finland, which shares a border with Russia stretching over 1,300 kilometers, later joined the group, with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo saying that withdrawal would give the country “the opportunity to prepare for changes in the security situation in a more versatile way”.
However, Taslidžan emphasizes that even if the threat were real, the choice of weapon is still wrong – precisely because it is civilians who will suffer the most.
– Choosing the most indiscriminate weapon amongst all to say that you are going to defend your country, that is wrong. Security cannot be built on a weapon that kills indiscriminately, that remains in the ground long after the conflict has ended and that specifically maims civilians.
She also warns against myths about “smart mines” with self-destruction mechanisms and claims that these are safe for the civilian population.
– That’s bizarre information. There is no smart mine that can think for itself and say, ‘Oh, civilians, we won’t explode now’.
American soldiers with mines in Iraq. Photo: U.S. Army/SPC Derek Gaines
Red Cross: “Extremely alarming”
Maya Brehm, legal advisor at the International Red Cross, describes the development as “extremely alarming”.
– From our perspective – and this is also a perspective shared by military authorities – whatever limited military value anti-personnel mines may still have in today’s conflicts, it is vastly outweighed by the appalling and long-lasting humanitarian consequences, she emphasizes.
Norway, which also borders Russia, has chosen to remain in the treaty, and Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has expressed regret over Finland’s decision:
– This particular decision (by Finland) is something we regret. If we start weakening our commitment, it makes it easier for warring factions around the world to use these weapons again, because it reduces the stigma, he commented.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, an estimated 3 million mines remain in the ground since the 1990s war and continue to kill and maim men, women, and children.
– This is not something you can just put in the ground and then pick up again when the war is over, Zoran Ješić explains grimly.
Recently The Nordic Times highlighted how the defense ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announced that they intend to withdraw from the international convention banning the use of anti-personnel mines.
In early April, Finnish officials also confirmed that they are also preparing to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty. Retired Swedish-Latvian Major General Karlis Neretnieks now wants Sweden to do the same and start buying “smart” anti-personnel mines.
– My opinion is clear. We should do what the Finns did, leave the Ottawa Agreement, and acquire anti-personnel mines, declares Neretnieks, who has also previously served as President of the Swedish National Defense College.
He explains that within the NATO military pact, there is a plan for the Swedish army to be able to move quickly to Finland and form joint defense forces with Finnish soldiers in the event of a possible Russian attack. In such a scenario, he argues, the armies of both countries must have similar rules of engagement.
– What should we do when Swedish commanders have to command Finnish units? Should a Swedish commander tell a Finnish commander that you are not allowed to use anti-personnel mines because you are under Swedish command? That’s not how it works in reality.
Kills thousands annually
Finland’s defense minister, Antti Häkkänen, insists that “mines are only for war” and “will not be scattered in the countryside“. However, over the years, anti-personnel mines have caused enormous civilian suffering – and in 2021 alone, an estimated 5,500 people were killed by them – many of them children.
Millions of undestroyed anti-personnel mines remain in former war zones around the world – and can detonate at any time when someone accidentally steps on them. This is also one of the primary reasons why some 160 countries around the world have committed to stop stockpiling, producing or using them.
However, Neretnieks argues that today’s modern anti-personnel mines can be turned on and off by remote control – and he emphasizes that some models stop working after a certain amount of time.
– The reason for removing the mines was that they were often left behind after the fighting was over. Then they were dangerous for children, farmers and anyone walking around the terrain… I’m advocating that we abandon the Ottawa agreement and get these anti-personnel mines with self-destruction, he continues.
“Were far too enthusiastic”
Sweden signed the convention in 1998, the year after it was drafted, but the major general says it was a big mistake.
– I think we were far too enthusiastic about a ban at the height of the discussions in 1996-1997. It was quite obvious that the Russians had no intention of signing anything like that, he states.
It should be noted that it is not only Russia that has chosen not to sign the convention. Major military powers such as the US and China have so far also refused to sign the Ottawa Treaty, as have Israel, India, Iran and both North and South Korea.
As reported by The Nordic Times, Swedish politicians have decided to borrow at least SEK 300 billion (€26 billion) for what is described as the “biggest rearmament since the Cold War”.
Douglas Thor, chair of The Moderate Youth League (MUF), fully supports the military investment – but emphasizes that it should be paid for by older Swedes through a higher retirement age.
The governing politicians agree that it is reasonable to borrow the equivalent of €4,400 for each Swede of working age for the military project, and analysts have noted that it will largely be future generations of Swedes who will have to pay for the decisions made today.
– It’s clear that future generations will have to take a bigger hit than if we were to just go on this year’s budget. But it also seems reasonable that future generations should help finance reconstruction because it will also benefit them,commented, for example, Daniel Waldenström, professor of economics, and continued:
– It’s simply that they will have to pay a bit more tax as a result of this. They will have to pay taxes to finance our repayment of these loans.
“In the long run, everyone will pay”
Just like the other establishment parties’ youth wings, MUF applauds the military investment, but believes older Swedes must bear a greater share of the cost – not just the younger generation.
– Borrowing money is not free.The costs are postponed to the future, which means that the younger generation has to pay.We are happy to contribute, but it is unreasonable that we alone should bear the cost, they say.
Thor’s solution is to raise the age at which older people can start drawing their pension from the current 63 to 67.
– Today, people can start drawing their income and premium pensions at the age of 63.We believe it is reasonable to raise it.One possible age is 67, confirms the Muf leader, who states that raising the retirement age is a much better option than raising taxes.
– In the long run, everyone will pay because we are all getting older.When our country has faced difficult challenges in the past, we have coped by working more, Thor argues.
Unpopular measure
Raising the retirement age to fund military spending is not expected to be a particularly popular message with voters – but Thor says this does not matter much.
– There are many issues that were previously unthinkable, but which have been reconsidered in this serious international situation.For example, loan financing has been reconsidered.It should be possible to do the same with regard to this issue.
According to Muf’s calculations, if older Swedes worked two years longer than they do today, this would mean around SEK 30 billion (€2.6 billion) extra to the public purse annually – about half the contribution needed to meet the government’s target of spending 3.5% of GDP on defense.
Ove Bring points out that commanders who accidentally injure or kill civilians can be prosecuted for this - but that it usually requires that the deaths are extensive.
The Swedish military plans to acquire several million military drones.This includes so-called “suicide drones” – and in two years’ time, Swedish kamikaze drone systems could be in operation.
Ove Bring, an expert in international law, notes that the type of drone is certainly not prohibited under international law – but that there is always a risk of civilians being killed.
The drones are equipped with explosive charges and, with the help of artificial intelligence, can fly around until they find their target – whereupon they fly into it and explode.
– A human operator sets them off and then they can fly on their own, find targets and attack targets on their own, explained AI and weapons scientist Arash Heydarian Pashakhanlou in 2022, clarifying that the suicide drones “can fly into the target on their own, explode and destroy the target”.
Many observers are critical of the technology development. The ability of unmanned aerial vehicles to kill and destroy on their own risks blurring the lines of responsibility, increasing the risk of civilian casualties and wrong decisions being made.
Others have warned that warfare is being dehumanized and that we are moving towards a development where autonomous weapon systems make lethal decisions without human intervention.
– A machine should not be allowed to decide on the life and death of a human being, says Deborah Solomon of the Swedish Peace Society.
“There is the risk that civilians are affected”
Ove Bring, professor emeritus of international law and former advisor to the Swedish Foreign Ministry on international law, admits that the use of drones can result in civilian deaths – but also emphasizes that suicide drones do not violate international law.
– This type of drone is not prohibited by international law as it is designed to hit military targets, but there is always the risk that civilians are affected, he says to The Nordic Times.
He notes that commanders who, in violation of the humanitarian law principles of precaution and proportionality, happen to harm civilians can also be prosecuted for this – at least in theory. However, this usually presupposes that the injuries or deaths are extensive.
If, on the other hand, a military target is hit by the drones – but civilians are also killed during the same attack, this does not violate any laws or conventions, the professor says.
– If the military target is hit and civilians are exposed to minor collateral damage, it must be accepted as an inevitable part of warfare.It is not considered a war crime, he concludes.
