Finland plans to close border crossings in the east based on intelligence warnings
Finland plans to close the eastern border (photo: GettyImages)
The Finnish government plans to close the eastern border indefinitely on Thursday, November 16, to ensure national security, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
The publication notes that it is currently unknown whether all border crossings will be closed or only some. There is also no information on the duration of these measures. The reason for the closure is cited as the deterioration of the situation at the border on Wednesday.
According to information from HS, the government's decision is based on intelligence. The announcement of these measures was initially planned for Wednesday, but the government later postponed the meeting date where the decision would be made.
Simultaneously, the press conference by the Minister of the Interior, Maria Ohisalo, regarding restrictions on the eastern border, which was originally scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled and moved to Thursday.
The State Council announced in the early evening that the decision would be made on Thursday at a general session at 13:00, followed by a press conference.
According to independent government sources cited by HS, the reason for the decision is the escalation of the situation at the eastern border. Because of this, the government decided to propose stricter border restrictions than initially planned for today.
Relations between Finland and Russia after the start of the war in Ukraine
Recently, it was reported that the Finnish government plans to introduce several legislative initiatives that could prohibit Russians from entering into real estate deals.
Additionally, the Finnish government aims to facilitate the confiscation of apartments owned by Russians. A significant portion of the properties is vacant, and it is impossible to contact their owners.
It has also been revealed that Finland's Customs has initiated over 660 investigations into violations of sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia. All these cases have been recorded after February 24, 2022.
Recently, the country has started blocking entry from the territory of Russia due to an influx of illegal migrants. The Finnish Border Guard has prohibited entry to people traveling by bicycle through border crossing points with Russia.
Later, it became known that the Finnish government is preparing a proposal to restrict or close border crossings on the Russian border.
