The government of Finland has made an announcement about closing its borders to Russian tourists between Thursday and Friday night.The Finnish government is likely to announce the details in a press conference, with the inflow of Russian nationals, which is likely to decrease to half of the current levels.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen said that “The decision in principle to be made means that border traffic will decrease significantly on the eastern border.”
Finland intends to significantly control Russian transit through Finland to the rest of the Schengen region, as well as Russian tourists travelling to Finland. Border control is likely to resemble pandemic entry rules, except restrictions will only apply to Russians.
Finland’s border will, therefore close to Russian tourists; however, the nation is still accessible under special circumstances.
The move follows an influx of Russians recently crossing the border to Finland, as per the Finnish Border Guard. However, it confirmed that it was keeping a check on the situation, and the number had dropped on Wednesday, although there was more traffic than in recent weeks.
Since the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced “partial mobilization” last week, Russian men have left the nation in droves to flee conscription. Border traffic to neighbouring nations has shot up, as have the prices of plane tickets out of Russia.
The Member States of the Eueopean Union have failed to agree on a common approach to Russians fleeing mobilization.
