Finnish town greets Russians with Ukrainian anthem

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Everyone who pays a visit to the eastern Finnish town of Imatra will not escape listening to Ukraine’s national anthem.

Ukraine’s staunch ally, Finland, might become a NATO member by the end of this year, according to the Finnish defence minister, Antti Kaikkonen.Shutterstock/Vitalii Vodolazskyi

The town boasts one of Finland’s greatest tourist attractions – the Imatrankoski rapids – the Nordic countries’ largest free-flowing waterfalls regulated by a dam, part of the Imatra hydropower plant.

Once a day the dam opens up and the water begins to flow under the bridge, accompanied by fine music. The show used to involve classical pieces by Finland’s world-famous composer, Jean Sibelius, but now the dam has struck a chord with Ukraine’s anthem, starting with the words „The glory and freedom of Ukraine has not yet perished.”

By a similar token, the nearby city of Lappeenranta plays the Ukrainian state anthem every evening with a special dedication to a swarm of Russian tourists visiting the region.

’Our goal is to express our support for Ukraine and to denounce Russia,’ Lappeenranta’s mayor claims.

As all flights between Russia and EU countries have been suspended, Finland, owing to its 1340-kilometre border with Russia, has functioned a springboard for Russians travelling westward.

But the Nordic country gears up to contain the influx of Russian citizens by imposing limits on tourist visas.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky appealed to the West to impose a blanket ban on all Russian citizens, including tourists.

Finland was among the countries that responded to his plea. The Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, avowed that it’s not fair that Russians can travel freely across Europe in the light of Moscow’s atrocities against Ukraine.

Source: Rzeczpospolita, The Guardian 

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