Faced with the influx of migrants, Helsinki has decided to close four crossing points in the south-east of the country.
In Finland, the Russian community is protesting against the closure of several border crossings.
Faced with the influx of migrants, Helsinki has decided to close four crossing points in the south-east of the country. Four others remain open in the north, but they are more difficult to access.
Russians and dual nationals in Finland fear being cut off from their loved ones.
“I feel like I’m cut off from my family. says Helsinki resident Vera Ponamoreva. I worry a lot, and they are very scared too. Everyone remembers, even me, what the Iron Curtain was like, and it’s very scary to go back to that.”
Finland, which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia and joined NATO in April, has seen an influx of visa-free migrants from the Middle East and Africa, particularly Iraq, since the end of August. , Somalia and Yemen.
“We are prepared for many scenarios. Let’s see what happens and we will react if necessary”said a border guard official.
These comments echo those of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, who said on Thursday that Finland had “prepared for different kinds of actions, malicious acts on the part of Russia, so the situation is not a surprise.”
The four border crossings are planned to be closed until February 18, 2024, with four other crossings remaining open in northern Finland.
Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated considerably since February 2022 and the Russian offensive in Ukraine, an attack which led Finland, worried about its own security, to join NATO.
