Finland closes four checkpoints on the border with Russia

Finland closes four border checkpoints on the border with Russia. The border crossing sites of Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra, and Niirala will close on Saturday night.

The remaining checkpoints along the Finnish-Russian border will stay open. The land border between Finland and Russia has nine checkpoints in total.

Финляндия закрывает четыре пункта пропуска на границе с Россией https://t.co/2iV8GUSaOr
— bbcrussian (@bbcrussian) November 16, 2023

Finland Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen talked about the new border measures at the press conference. PM Petteri Orpo announced on Thursday that Finland is going to close four checkpoints with Russia on November 18. According to Interior Minister Marie, they will be closed at least until February 18, 2024.

"Olemme toimineet päättäväisesti ja ripeästi siksi, että tilanne itärajalla ei pahenisi."

Pääministeri @PetteriOrpo kertoi päätöksestä sulkea osa Suomen itärajasta.

Vaalimaan, Nuijamaan, Imatran ja Niiralan rajanylityspaikat suljetaan 18.11.2023 alkaen. pic.twitter.com/Opn0kRLUmH
— Valtioneuvosto | Statsrådet (@valtioneuvosto) November 16, 2023

Finland closes four checkpoints on the border with Russia

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Due to an increase in refugees from third-world countries, Finland is ready to minimize the operation of checkpoints on its border with Russia. That is why Prime Minister Petteri addressed this issue and decided to close four checkpoints on the border with Russia.

Because the Finnish border guard law allows authorities to restrict border crossings, close to individuals or all checkpoints, and only consider asylum in one place. Finland also introduced a ban on crossing the border from Russia on bicycles from November 15 for an indefinite period.

Deputy Commander of the Border Guard of South-East Finland, Lieutenant Colonel Jukka Lukkari, explained this decision was made due to the sharply increased number of people trying to enter Finland from Russia without the necessary entry documents.

As Jukka noted, these are mainly third-country citizens traveling through Russia in transit and planning to seek asylum in Finland. The number of such people has increased markedly since August.

Apparently, Russian border guards did not let them through before. According to the Finnish Border Service, these are citizens of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Turkey.