MOSCOW, May 7. The number of Finnish citizens on The border crossing «Narva» between Estonia and Russia has increased 35 times due to the fact that Finland has closed the border with Russia, public broadcaster Yle reported on Monday.
«»In the first months of this year, the number of Finnish citizens at the Narva border checkpoint (Ivangorod checkpoint — ed.) increased 35 times compared to the same period last year. About 7.3 thousand Finnish citizens crossed the border from Narva to Russia and returned to Estonia through the same checkpoint,” the material says.
In 2023, approximately 200 Finnish citizens crossed the Narva checkpoint. The reason for the sharp increase in passenger traffic was the closure of the border between Finland and Russia, Yle notes. People are forced to rebuild their usual routes and travel through Estonia. Before the border was closed, a trip from Finland to Russia could take about four hours by car. Now it lasts at least 16 hours, the report says.
The border between Finland and Russia is closed by decision of the Finnish authorities until further notice. Helsinki began introducing restrictions on border crossings from November 2023 amid an uncontrolled flow of refugees from third countries. Finnish authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of deliberately sending asylum seekers to the border. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected accusations against Russia of involvement in the migration crisis in the European Union, calling them double standards of the West.
Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the closure of Finnish checkpoints on the border with Russia, noted that the Russophobic position, which what the leaders of this neighboring country have now begun to adhere to is deeply regrettable. He emphasized that Russian border guards comply with all instructions, “the border crossing is used by those who have the legal right to do so,” and far-fetched accusations are unacceptable for Moscow.