Finland has temporarily closed seven out of eight border crossings for travelers with Russia, in an effort to tackle the exceptional influx of migrants that the Scandinavian country holds Russia responsible for. Over 700 migrants from countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria have entered Finland via Russia in the past two weeks. Helsinki claims that Russia is pushing migrants to the border, an accusation that the Kremlin denies.
After closing four border crossings last week, Finland closed the remaining traveler crossings last night, except for the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the far north in the Arctic region, which will remain closed for a month. The Finnish Border Guard indicated that the Raja-Jooseppi crossing opened at 08:00 GMT and will continue to accept asylum requests during the four daily working hours, adding that no migrants arrived outside of working hours last night.
The border guard is intensifying patrols along the 1,340-kilometer border with Russia. Finland will receive additional resources to fulfill its border patrol mission from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which announced on Thursday that it would send 50 border guards and other personnel to Finland, along with equipment including patrol vehicles to support border control.
