Fence on the border between Finland and Russia: Dozens of migrants stuck at checkpoints

KYIV. November 19. UNN. Dozens of migrants are stranded on the border between Finland and russia after Helsinki blocked the checkpoints. checkpoints. This was reported by Reuters, with reference to the Finnish Border Guard Service, UNN reports. UNN.

Details

The Finnish Border Guard has set up barriers at the Vaalima and Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala border posts in southeastern Finland, which account for the majority of traffic between the two countries.

According to the Finnish Border Guard, despite the official closure, dozens of migrants arrived on Saturday afternoon at the Nuijamaa and and Vaalimaa checkpoints and lit bonfires behind the barbed wire barriers set up by border guards.

However, two people managed to overcome the barrier at Nuijamaa and enter Finland. Finland.

"We are currently improving the barriers so that something like this will not be possible again," said Colonel possible again," Colonel Mika Ritkonen said in a commentary to the Finnish YLE.

Context

The Finns have built a fence with russia to stem the flow of asylum seekers, which allegedly incited by Moscow. In particular, the Finnish government accused russia of directing migrants to the checkpoints in response to their in response to their decision to increase defense cooperation with the United States. The Kremlin, of course, denies this. The russians claim that Finland is making a "big mistake" by closing border crossings and that Helsinki's move is destroying bilateral relations between their countries.

Finland shares a 1,340 km (830 mi) border with russia, which is also the external border of the EU. According to the Finnish Border Guard, about 300 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, and Syria, have arrived in Finland this week. Finland this week.

The four regular border crossings remain open for now, but asylum can now be sought at only two of them, Salli and Vartius, to the north, the border guard said.

To recap,

The day before, on Saturday, 67 people arrived at the Vartius post. The group of migrants managed to get there half an hour before the station was to close, local media reported.

"In this situation, we had to let these people into Finland because russia will not take them back," station manager Vartius told Finnish MTV. station, Captain Jouko Kinnunen.

In 2021, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia accused Moscow's close ally Belarus of artificially creating a migrant crisis on their borders by flying people from the Middle East and people from the Middle East and Africa and trying to push them across the border. an accusation Belarus has repeatedly denied.

The European Union's border agency Frontex told Reuters on Friday that it would send an officer to the Reuters that it will send officers to Finland to help secure the border.

Finance Minister Rikka Purra of the anti-immigrant Finns party on Thursday said that Finland is ready to close all checkpoints on the border with russia, if necessary.

This week, Finland's non-discrimination ombudsman said that according to international treaties and EU law, Helsinki still has an obligation to allow asylum seekers to seek protection.