He lives next door to Russia: "You do not know what is happening"

It is a 196-kilometer stretch that forms the land border between Norway and Russia and at the same time NATO's northernmost Russian border.

- The focus has changed in recent months, states Michael Spanne Rozmara, head of the hunter battalion in Sör-Varanger.

1,000 soldiers

Sör-Varanger's battalion with 1000 soldiers and the base in Krikenes has the task of guarding the border, both militarily and also as the external border of the Schengen agreement.

And Russia's war against Ukraine has changed the situation, the military is on guard.

- We are a little further ahead in the shoes, as they say in Norwegian, says Michael Spanne Rozmara.

Friendship bond

Right now, traffic across the border is sparse, but a Russian driver says that he regularly drives people from Norway to Russia and vice versa.

There are many relatives and friendships here that are now at risk of being affected by the war.

- I know many Russians, they are good people, states Nina Karin Skogan.