Finland and Poland consider restoring peat bogs to defend against Russian tanks

Finland and Poland are considering rewetting drained peatlands to create defensive barriers against a potential Russian ground invasion.

As reported by France 24, since Russian tanks invaded Ukraine in 2022, European countries bordering Russia have strengthened security on their eastern frontiers.

Finland has recently completed the first stretch of a fence along its 1,340-kilometre border with Russia and is closely monitoring increased movements of Russian troops on the other side.

This summer, Poland added defensive minefields to a 20-kilometre section of its border with Russia and Belarus as part of its extensive Eastern Shield defence infrastructure programme.

NATO members are now turning to the natural world to reinforce their defences further – by restoring peat bogs.

Wetlands where peat accumulates consist of spongy, waterlogged ground that is impassable to tanks. They are usually found in cool northern climates and are scattered across northern and eastern European countries bordering Russia and Belarus.

Finland’s Ministries of Defence and the Environment will begin talks in the autumn on launching a pilot project to restore peatlands.

In Poland, the defence ministry is interested in restoring wetlands along the eastern border, and discussions are under way between scientists and the ministries of defence and the environment.

In June, Germany’s peatland think tank, the Greifswald Mire Centre, called on the EU to create a fund of up to €500 million to finance the planning and rewetting of 100,000 hectares of land.

"Naturally wet and restored peatlands are impassable for tanks, slowing troop movements and forcing them into predictable corridors that are easier to defend," the organisation said.

Recently, Poland said that migration pressure on the border with Belarus is again increasing.