Associations supporting Ukraine brought a battle tank from Tallinn to Finland on Friday to remind us of the brutality of war. At the port, the wagon was inspected due to a possible radiation hazard.
Operation was anything but ordinary. Last Friday, a battle tank was inspected in Vuosaari harbor in Helsinki due to a possible radiation hazard. The destroyed Russian wagon was on its way to Kansalaistor to remind of the war in Ukraine.
The show wagon that arrived in Finland from Estonia at 8:00 PM had the permit matters in order, so to speak, but on Friday the need for an additional inspection became apparent. The operation, which lasted about an hour, was carried out in cooperation with Customs, the police and the Radiation Protection Agency (STUK).
“The police had previously issued an import permit for the wagon. Initially, it was only necessary to check that the wagon’s weaponry was not in working order, but on Friday we suddenly received information that some of these T-72 model wagons have a gas detector that contains a radioactive substance,” says the inspector. Tom Packalén From Helsinki police to STT.
According to Packalén, the information came from the experts of the Defense Forces and the inspection was carried out by a STUK representative dressed in protective gear at the Customs premises.
“The wagon is model T-72B3. It was modernized between 2011 and 2016, so it’s very hard to say’ what equipment is inside.
Packalén, who was there during the inspection, says that the gas detector is not dangerous when intact, but the situation could be different in a tank damaged in the war. In this case, the gas detector could have been destroyed and a very dangerous radioactive substance could have spread inside the wagon.
“In the procedure, it was ensured that this has not happened. If the carriage is not completely intact and rainwater, for example, could get inside, the radioactive substance could spread outside – in this case to Kansalaistor.
Present Vuosaari harbor was also on Friday Kasper Kannosto, chairman and founding member of Your Finnish Friends ry (YFF). Bringing the battle tank to Finland is a joint project of YFF and the Association of Ukrainians in Finland (UYS).
“It was absurd to see the tank on top of the pallet at the Customs checkpoint. It seemed incomprehensible that now it finally came. It had been waiting for so long”, Kannosto repeats his feelings to STT.
He says that he trusted that everything will be fine and that the carriage will be brought out safely.
“We spent an hour arguing with the authorities. The Radiation Protection Center measured the radiation and concluded that everything is OK.”
The evening had already turned into night, when the wagon was finally brought to Kansalaistor in a police convoy. On Saturday, the opening of the exhibition was celebrated at the square between the Music Hall and the Oodi Library. Opposite the market is the Parliament House.
“The reception has been really good. Many people have been interested and received a little awakening”, says Kannosto.
Thought about bringing destroyed Russian armor to Finland arose in Your Finnish Friends association last spring. According to Kannosto, the idea was to bring a tank to remind us of the realism of war and the fact that the war is still going on in Europe.
“And if, along with that, we could collect money for humanitarian supplies, we could also help people” who live in a conflict zone.
In July, the association went to Kiev to meet with the director of the local War Museum and learned that the Association of Ukrainians in Finland had already been in contact with the same issue.
“We put our wise heads together and started planning”, where and how to get the tank to Finland.
According to the associations, the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed a Russian T-72B3 armored fighting vehicle in March 2022 near Kyiv. The wagon was brought to Finland from Tallinn, where it has been exhibited before.
“We wanted the tank in Finland for Ukraine’s Independence Day (in August), but the project took longer than we had thought,” says Kannosto, referring to the permit issues.
Destroyed The Russian tank is on display at Helsinki’s Kansalaistor until December 7. Then, according to Kannosto, it returns back to Tallinn.
According to the associations organizing the exhibition, the carriage has been brought to the fore so that people can have an arresting experience and understand more concretely the reality that television or pictures cannot convey.
Russian armor naturally evokes conflicting feelings and for example in Tallinn activated to show support for the Russian soldiers as well. According to Kannosto, something similar has also happened in Helsinki.
“We have noticed that some people typed in Russian on Tiktok that you should go and take roses in memory of the fallen Russians. We’ve been cleaning up roses all the time,” he says.
“This did not come as a surprise.”
The organizers of the exhibition hope that the wagon and its surroundings will be kept clean from all expressions of opinion.
“We don’t want to create opportunities for disputes.”
Kannosto says that he would have liked the armored car to be closer to the Russian embassy, but based on the first few days, the City of Helsinki’s proposal for Kansalaistor seems successful.
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