Finland has banned Russians and Belarusians from buying real estate in the country

The Finnish government has officially banned citizens of Russia and Belarus from purchasing real estate in the country. The ban came into effect on July 15.

This was reported by Finnish Defense Minister Antti Gäkkänen on his X page.

The official is convinced that this is “an important reform that has not been implemented for too long”. It was necessary even before the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, but for some reason this need was not recognized, and the bill was not prepared, he added.

"For example, the previous government in 2023 concluded that such a reform was not necessary. When I started working at the Ministry of Defense, I considered this a problem and started preparing a ban on real estate purchases about two years ago," Gäkkänen said.

The Minister of Defense believes that this measure is aimed at strengthening Finlandʼs security and "preparing for all possible methods of influence".

• In June, Finnish broadcaster Yle reported that Russia was building a garrison for an artillery brigade in the closed military town of Kandalaksha, on the border with Finnish Lapland. This is the first concrete sign of a steady increase in the number of troops near the border with Finland.
• The WSJ newspaper wrote back in April 2025 that in the Russian city of Petrozavodsk, located about 160 kilometers east of the border with Finland, military engineers are expanding army bases. They are building a new army headquarters there, modernizing barracks, arsenals and railway lines. According to the Kremlinʼs plan, in the coming years they will significantly increase the number of troops there — from brigades of several thousand to divisions of 10 thousand soldiers, strengthening the presence along the borders with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, which are members of NATO. More about this here.

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