– We will close the borders from midnight on Friday, says Prime Minister Petteri Orpo at a press conference on Wednesday evening. In November, over 600 people without valid travel documents for the EU arrived in Finland from Russia. The news agency Reuters reported the closure of the border first. According to the Finnish authorities, only the Rajajooseppi border crossing will remain open. This is 150 kilometers as the crow flies from the Norwegian-Russian border crossing at Storskog in Sør-Varanger. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) tells TV 2 on Wednesday evening that he will close the border with Russia at Storskog if necessary. He says the government is following the situation in Finland and Estonia closely. The Finnish authorities say that they have experienced a large increase in asylum seekers who want to cross the Finnish-Russian border without valid documentation. Photo: Vesa Moilanen Lehtikuva / NTB The asylum seekers who have tried to enter Finland come from several countries, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria, according to the Finnish Immigration Service. – It appears to be organized and appears to continue, Orpo concluded earlier this week. Finnish authorities have accused Russia of deliberately letting undocumented asylum seekers into the country and have responded by closing several border crossings. The Kremlin denies the allegations. On the night of Saturday, the Finns closed the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border crossings in the southeast of the country. It is now clear that only one border will be open from midnight on Friday. Awaiting the situation The only Norwegian-Russian border crossing is located near Kirkenes, in Sør-Varanger municipality. Mayor of the municipality, Magnus Mæland (H), tells news that it was expected that Finland will now close almost all its borders. – We are following the situation, but we have a good plan and good cooperation. So we can do nothing but await the situation. He does not know how the closures will affect traffic across Storskog. Mayor of Sør-Varanger, Magnus Mæland, does not know how the closures of the Finnish border crossings will affect traffic in Storskog. Photo: Gunnar Sætra / news On Monday, Chief of Staff Tarjei Sirma-Tellefsen at the Finnmark Police District told news that the traffic over Storskog is normal. – We closely monitor the traffic and what happens in Finland. We know that the situation can change quickly and have contingency plans for that. The chief of staff said at the start of the week that the police have increased vigilance and territorial control after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Last week, Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said that they are prepared to close the Norwegian-Russian border. – We are prepared to take measures, and ultimately to close the border, if necessary. Until now, traffic over Storskog has been normal. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news Estonia is experiencing a major surge Estonia’s interior minister accuses Russia of waging hybrid war by helping migrants to the border to undermine security and create unrest. A total of 75 migrants, mainly from Somalia and Syria, have tried to cross the border into Estonia from Russia at the Narva border crossing since Thursday, according to the country’s national broadcaster ERR. No one has asked for asylum, and everyone has been sent back, says the Ministry of the Interior. Estonia says that, like Finland, they have made preparations to close the border crossings if “migration pressure from Russia escalates”. – Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border authorities and possibly other agencies are involved, says Minister of the Interior Lauri Laanemets. – Frankly, the ongoing migration pressure on Europe’s eastern border is a hybrid war, he adds.
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Finland closes all border crossings to Russia except one – news Troms and Finnmark
