Gov't Extends Russia Border Closure 'Until Further Notice'

Wires reporting that the Finnish gov't has confirmed that it will maintain the closure of its border checkpoints with Russia for foot traffic 'until further notice'. The border closure had been due to expire on 14 April, but Finnish outlet STT reports that this deadline has been extended indefinetely. The last review came on 8 February, with the initial closure coming in December 2023.

• The Finnish gov't alleges that Russia has funnelled large number of migrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia to its lengthy border with Finland in an effort to cause political destabilisation and increase security risks to the now-NATO member state.
• PM Petteri Orpo has refered to Russia's supposed actions as 'instrumentalised migration', claiming "Russia is pushing third country nationals towards our eastern border, this is not acceptable,"
• Sky News reported in March that "From August to December last year, the Finnish border authority reported more than 1,300 asylum seekers from nations including Yemen, Somalia and Syria entered from Russia. Previous numbers had averaged just one person a day."
• With the approach of spirng, the gov't in Helsinki is believed to be wary of a further uptick in arrivals at the border.
• Since Finland, and more recently Sweden, joined the NATO alliance, both have warned of the increased likelihood of coming under 'hybrid attacks' from Russia. 'Instrumentalised migration' could prove just one prong of these attacks, with each nation's cyberspace and key infrastructure (e.g. undersea cables) also potentially vulnerable.