Nordic and Baltic countries are accusing Russia of weaponising migrants, as the number of people showing up at their borders from Russia without proper documents has increased sharply in recent weeks.
The countries believe the tactic is similar to the situation at the Polish border with Belarus in 2021, when an unusually high number of migrants, mostly from African and Middle Eastern countries, attempted to breach the borders after allegedly being flown into Belarus and brought to the border with the EU.
In response, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced on Wednesday that Finland would close all border crossings with Russia starting Friday, except for the northernmost point in the Arctic Circle.
It will also be receiving more support from Frontex, which will deploy 50 more officers to the country’s border.
So far in November, approximately 800 people without valid travel documents to enter the European Union have come to Finland via Russia. Finland has already closed its southernmost border crossings with Russia, but migrants are arriving at the remaining, more northern entry points.
According to Finnish immigration authorities, the migrants come from a wide range of nations, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria.
Finnish authorities also said Russia was letting migrants through the four remaining crossing points on foot, despite an agreement that they could only cross by car.
“There are growing signs that the situation is worsening on the eastern border,” Orpo said.
He added that the government will seek to amend legislation that prevents it from closing the entire border. The border points will remain closed until December 23, including for Finns wanting to enter Russia.
Estonia is facing a similar situation, as some 75 migrants without proper documents attempted to cross the border in the space of a few days, which is an unusual situation. Estonia accused Moscow of mounting “a hybrid attack operation” on Europe’s eastern border.
Nordic and Baltic defence ministers discussed the issue at a meeting in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s defence minister, called the uptick in border arrivals in recent weeks a “fully state-orchestrated” operation by Moscow.
Latvia’s defence minister, Andris Sprūds, laid the blame squarely on the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, describing him as the “puppet master” of a plan to weaponise migrants.
“Regarding the migrant flow, this is fully state-orchestrated. In Russia, there is a border zone you cannot enter without permission from the FSB. So by accident, all these hundreds of migrants have ended up in one border crossing point in Finland with bicycles during the winter? Come on, seriously,” Pevkur said at a press conference during the gathering.
“They are coming from Yemen, they are coming from Syria, they are coming from Somalia, and at the end of the day, they end up somewhere in the high north at the border crossing point with Finland. … This is not very plausible,” he added.
The Estonian and Latvian defence ministers said they were monitoring the situation and would respond as needed, praising Finland’s decision to close its borders.
