HELSINKI (AP) — Concerned about the use of migrants as part of “hybrid warfare” by Russia, Finland announced on Tuesday that it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia.
So far, Finland has closed seven out of eight checkpoints on its 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia following a spike in the number of arrivals of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. The Finnish government has accused Moscow of directing them toward the border, navigating through thick forests in the south to the rugged Arctic landscape in the north.
Since August, a small number of asylum-seekers have arrived at the heavily controlled border, which is a significant part of NATO’s northeastern flank. Finnish authorities reported that about 900 individuals crossed from Russia this month, an unusually high number.
“The government has decided to close all the crossing points on the entire eastern border,” Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters, attributing the current situation to Moscow’s alleged orchestration. “We don’t accept any attempt to undermine our national security. Russia has caused this situation and it can also stop it,” Orpo stated.
Since August, approximately 1,000 migrants without visas or valid documentation from countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have come to the border, most of them seeking asylum in the country of 5.6 million.
Two years ago, the EU accused Russia’s ally Belarus of using migrants as pawns to destabilize Western democracies, referring to it as “hybrid warfare.” Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen echoed this term recently and was convinced that Russia was instrumentalizing migrants for similar reasons.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova countered the accusations, while some Western political analysts believe Russia’s motive is to create chaos on the EU’s external borders.
As the last border crossing for vehicle traffic, Raja-Jooseppi in Finland’s Arctic north, prepares to close at midnight on Wednesday, the increasing influx of migrants and allegations of Russian influence have prompted Finland to counter with decisive border closures.
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