Only one will remain: Finland is closing checkpoints on the border with Russia – media

The Finnish government has decided to close all checkpoints on the border with Russia, except for the northern Raya-Josepi checkpoint. The latter is currently open daily for 4 hours.

At the same time, the government is ready to decide on additional border restrictions as early as Wednesday, November 22, at a government meeting in the evening. This is stated in the article in the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper.

As noted, Finnish Deputy Minister of Justice Mikko Puumalainen gave the green light to a new draft decision of the Ministry of the Interior to strengthen border crossing points in the eastern part this afternoon.

"The Deputy Chancellor of Justice has assessed the draft decision and the draft memorandum submitted today from the point of view of law enforcement oversight. A confidential memorandum on this issue is also available. Based on the documents, there are no legal obstacles to further preparation of the proposed decision," the Ministry of Justice office told the newspaper.

Now the government is to hold a press conference on the issue at the official residence of the Prime Minister in Quesaranta. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, Interior Minister Mari Rantanen and Head of the Border Guard Department Markku Hassinen will be present.

Earlier, Orpo explained that in recent weeks, citizens of Iraq, Yemen and other countries have begun to arrive in Finland via Russia in large numbers and seek asylum. Before this, Finnish Interior Minister Mari Rantanen noted that Russian border guards let people who do not have documents enter Finland through their checkpoints, although they should not do so. Moreover, Russian border guards even help asylum seekers get to the border.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported a resolution approving the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of November 20, 2023. It refers to the introduction of sectoral economic and other sanctions against Russia and Belarus in the defense industry.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!