The Finnish Ministry of Internal Affairs is preparing to completely close the country's eastern border in case the number of asylum seekers increases and their routes change. This was reported by local publications MTV Uutiten and Helsingin Sanomat with links to government sources.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, the authorities are preparing a plan for introducing restrictions in advance in order to close the border quickly if necessary. However, there is no final decision on additional restrictions yet. Government sources believe that the situation does not require this.
Today the Border Guard of South-Eastern Finland reported that by midday there were 69 refugees at the border. By 18:00, the number of asylum seekers who applied for 24 hours was 96 people.
Norway, which has one border checkpoint with Russia, and Estonia are also preparing to introduce similar restrictions. “It would be appropriate for us to close the border as soon as possible if necessary,” said Norwegian Justice Minister Emily Enger Mehl; her comment to the NRK TV channel is reported by Kommersant.
The Postimees newspaper, citing eyewitnesses and border guards, clarified that at night in Estonia, near the border with Russia, a car appeared with concrete pyramids — “dragon teeth” — which are used as part of fortifications structures to prevent the movement of equipment.
“We have prepared these concrete blocks in case the Estonian government decides, following the example of our neighbors, to restrict entry into the country from Russia in order to contain the wave of illegal migrants,” Marek Liiva, head of the Narva border checkpoint, said in a conversation with reporters.
From 17 November 2023 until 18 February 2024, Finland closed several vehicle checkpoints on its southeastern border. We are talking about the points of Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala (on the Russian side these are Torfyanovka, Brusnichnoe and Svetogorsk in the Leningrad region and Vyartsilya in Karelia).
The reason for this was that the flow of third-party citizens into the country has increased countries without visas. These are citizens of Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia without the necessary documents for entry. They were traveling to Finland in transit through Russia and requested asylum.
The refugees tried to cross the border on bicycles, as a result, Finland, from November 15, banned the use of this transport to enter the country through the points of Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa and Imatra. However, now they have decided to close them completely.