The first half of this year has seen an increased number of unauthorised border crossings between Finland and Russia, the Finnish Border Guard reported on Thursday.
During the first six months of 2022 there were 11 unauthorised crossings, compared to a total of eight during all of last year.
In a single week, the Border Guard of Southeast Finland detected four illegal crossings.
The latest incident occurred on Tuesday, when an individual crossed from Finland into Russia — near the municipality of Imatra — without permission.
Despite this, Kimmo Gromoff, the head of Southeast Finland's Border Guard said that while it has been a busy summer, it's nothing out of the ordinary.
Since 2015 about 10 unauthorised border crossings in Southeast Finland take place every year. In 2018, there were a total of 18.
Eastward crossings usually tourists
Gromoff said that most of the incidents involve people heading westward from Russia, usually to apply for asylum in Finland.
On the other hand, individuals who cross without permission from Finland into Russia are usually tourists who step a few metres into Russian territory to take a quick photo and then return.
"Basically, these people are always caught," Gromoff said, explaining that such adventures can result in hefty fines or even imprisonment.
Usually, getting caught for an unauthorised crossing involves paying an income-based day fine, but the maximum penalty is a yearlong prison sentence.
There are cases in which people make unauthorised crossings into Russia because they are unable to do so legally.
Due to heavy snow in the winter, most of the crossings take place during warmer months.