Finland closes border crossing points with Russia for another two months — until April 14, 2024.
The Finnish publication Yle writes about it.
The border should have been opened on February 11, but the Finnish authorities decided to extend the restrictions. All because Russia sends a large number of asylum seekers to the border in order to put pressure on Finland.
What is happening on the Russian-Finnish border
In recent years, Finland has been preparing for the fact that Russia will send a large number of asylum seekers to the border. The Russians have already done this on the Finnish border during the migration crisis of 2015.
In November 2023, border guards began to report that an unusually large number of people who did not have entry documents were trying to enter Finland through the checkpoints on the southeastern border. On November 15, the Prime Minister of Finland stated that Russia helps illegal migrants enter the country, including citizens of the Russian Federation, countries of the Middle East and Africa. Due to this surge in illegal migration, Finland decided to close border crossings on the border with Russia.
The Minister of the Interior of Finland Marie Rantanen called the situation at the border a threat to national security.