Finland shuts Russian border again over migrant crossings

HELSINKI: Finland will close its eastern border with Russia, its interior minister said on Thursday, hours after reopening it following a spike in migrant crossings that Helsinki has labelled a Russian hybrid attack.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-kms border with Russia, will close the border on Friday at 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) until January 14, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said at a press conference. On Tuesday, Finland opted to partially ease the closure that had been in force since the end of November, aiming to assess whether there was still pressure on its borders.

But it cancelled the plan to ease restrictions when migrants resumed entering the country immediately after restrictions were lifted. Two border crossing points in southeastern Finland were opened overnight Wednesday to Thursday. The Finnish border guard said Thursday that at least 40 people had crossed into Finland to seek asylum since the border was opened. “The number of migrants increased rapidly and the phenomenon accelerated faster than expected,” Rantanen said. Arthur Parfenchikov, the governor of Karelia, the Russian region bordering Finland, said Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, that “there are groups of migrants among the people wishing to cross the border.”