Small numbers of undocumented asylum seekers continued to enter Finland from Russia on Saturday following the closure of four southeastern border stations at midnight.
As of 6pm on Saturday, when the border stations closed, 61 people had arrived at the Vartius crossing point in Kuhmo, including at least one family with two children.
As Finland now forbids anyone from crossing the border on foot or bicycle, some of Saturday’s arrivals had switched to traditional kick scooters as their mode of transport. Later others arrived on bicycles despite the ban.
Since Finnish officials shut the Imatra, Niirala, Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa border stations, asylum seekers are only allowed to enter at the more northerly Salla and Vartius crossing points.
Officials said this is in response to Russia's concerted efforts to funnel undocumented third-country asylum seekers, mostly young men from the Middle East, to the border to apply pressure on Finland in response to its support for Ukraine and Nato membership. On Monday Finland begins leading its first major international military exercise with Nato allies.
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP) on Saturday reiterated that the government is prepared to temporarily close all eastern border stations if necessary. Finland and Russia share a 1,340-km border, which is also an external border of the EU and Nato.
"The border area of southeastern Finland has the easiest access routes from Russia, and that's where the traffic has been going this time. If necessary, the entire eastern border will be closed," he said on Yle’s Saturday morning current-affairs programme, Ykkösaamu.
Häkkänen described this as "a crystal-clear message to Russia" and potential asylum seekers who are considering a long trip to Finland through the country. He said that decision to close the border crossing points was based on Russia's efforts at hybrid influence in other areas, and against Finland in the past.
"We have evidence of how Russia operates in Europe and other parts of the world. For instance, in the Mediterranean refugee crisis, there are signs that Wagner is operating in the background on Russia’s orders to accelerate the migrant crisis in Europe and destabilise its unity. In the Baltic countries, [it has] continued an instrumentalised migration crisis in order to destabilise the Baltic countries and Poland," he said.
Häkkänen also pointed to a similar operation against Finland in 2015-16, when many third-country asylum seekers arrived at border crossing points in Lapland on bicycles.
"Now there are signs that this is starting again," he said.
According to Häkkänen, it is essential to take a broader view of the situation.
"We must understand the broader state of security. If you look at the peaceful situation in Nuijamaa or Vaalimaa, then you might not understand what this big picture is all about. We see this big picture, history and Russia's playbook, and that's why we have to react decisively at the very beginning," Häkkänen said.
More than 300 third-country asylum seekers arrived via Russia this past week, 220 of them on Friday, just before the four southeastern border stations closed.
On Saturday about 100 people protested against the closures outside the Parliament building in Helsinki. Many of them were Russians living in Finland who have relatives across the border.
16.51: Updated with demonstration and number of arrivals.
18.51: Updated number of arrivals; other details.
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