Finland's eastern border completely closed to traffic on Wednesday afternoon. The last open border crossing, Raja-Jooseppi, closed at 2 pm local time on Wednesday.
At the same time, asylum applications will not be accepted at the eastern border. For the time being, applications for asylum in Finland can only be made upon arrival at a port or airport.
The border guard said that no asylum applications were received at Raja-Jooseppi on its final day of operation.
Crossing points on the border with Russia are closed for two weeks, until December 13. Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) said at a press conference on Tuesday that the decision to close all border crossings can be extended if the situation requires it.
According to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP), the government's goal is for the situation on the eastern border to normalise as quickly as possible.
According to Orpo, the move is necessary, and proportionate, to meet national security concerns.
Meanwhile the Office of the president denied a claim by the Head of the Polish National Security Bureau Jaciek Siewiera that Finnish president Sauli Niinistö had requested military help on the border during a visit to Poland.
Niinistö's office said that he had discussed security issues on a general level but no request for bilateral assistance had been made.
Siewiera had gone so far as to claim on X (formerly Twitter) that Polish soldiers would head to Finland to assist.
The border guard and Interior Ministry also said there were no bilateral arrangements for Polish military assistance.
Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) said that the European Union's border agency Frontex did send some guards this week, and some of them could be Polish.
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Dealing with hybrid operation
Since the beginning of August, approximately 1,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Finland across the eastern border. According to the Finnish government, the influx was organized, and part of a Russian hybrid operation.
Finnish authorities have been tight-lipped about whether there have been any suspicious individuals among the recent asylum seekers. According to the National Police Board, some persons who potentially pose a security threat have been detected among the migrants who crossed the eastern border.
The Finnish Immigration Service Migri has said that there are currently no concrete indications of arrivals being involved in war crimes or of military personnel impersonating civilians.
The Border Guard has declined to publicly release any information on the matter.
Russian Telegram channel: Failed operation
A popular Russian security affairs Telegram channel, Vtsk-OGPU, has claimed that shifting undocumented third-country migrants to the Finnish border was the handiwork of a close supporter of Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin's deputy chief of staff, Sergey Kiriyenko.
According to the channel, which says its information comes from sources inside the Russian security service FSB, the operation "ended in complete failure", as Finnish authorities quickly understood its nature.
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