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☆ Possible Polish plan to send troops to Russian border will stoke tensions -Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Closed Vaalimaa border station between Finland and Russia in Virolahti, Finland on November 29, 2023. Finland closes temporarily its sole remaining border crossing with Russia. "A team of military advisors will provide on-site knowledge on border security, also in operational terms," he said. Finland has closed its border with Russia after a sudden wave of refugee arrivals that Helsinki said was orchestrated by Moscow, something Russia has denied. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in reference to Poland's possible moving of troops to the border: "This is an absolutely redundant measure to ensure border security, because there is no threat there."

Persons: Lehtikuva, Lauri Heino, Jacek Siewiera, Sauli Niinisto, Andrzej Duda, Dmitry Peskov, Anne Kauranen, Felix Light, Andrew Osborn, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, stoke, Poland's National Security, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Finland, Russia, Virolahti, MOSCOW, HELSINKI, Poland, Helsinki, Moscow, Warsaw

☆ Kremlin warns of tensions if Poland sends troops to Finnish-Russian border
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Closed Vaalimaa border station between Finland and Russia in Virolahti, Finland on November 29, 2023. Finland closes temporarily its sole remaining border crossing with Russia. "A team of military advisers will provide on-site knowledge on border security, also in operational terms," he said. Finland's Border Guard and the interior ministry both said they were unaware of any plan to bring Polish military advisers to Finland's eastern border. Finland infuriated Russia earlier this year when it joined NATO, ending decades of military non-alignment, due to the war in Ukraine.

Persons: Lehtikuva, Lauri Heino, Jacek Siewiera, Dmitry Peskov, Sauli Niinisto, Andrzej Duda, Anne Kauranen, Felix Light, Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Kremlin, Polish National Security Bureau, NATO, Finland's Border Guard, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Finland, Russia, Virolahti, MOSCOW, HELSINKI, Moscow, Poland, Helsinki, Finnish, Warsaw, Ukraine

☆ Dozens of migrants wait at Finland-Russia border after Helsinki blocks crossings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HELSINKI, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Dozens of migrants stood behind barriers at two crossings on Finland's border with Russia on Saturday, the Finnish Border Guard said, after Helsinki erected barricades to halt a flow of asylum seekers it says was instigated by Moscow. Despite the closure, dozens of migrants arrived on Saturday afternoon at the Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa crossings, and lit a campfire in sub-zero temperatures behind razor-wire barriers mounted by border guards, Finnish Border Guard told reporters. Four regular border crossings remain open for the time being, but asylum can now only be sought at two of those, in Salla and Vartius, further north, the Border Guard said. On Saturday, 67 people arrived to seek asylum at the Vartius post, the local border guard unit said on X, formerly known as Twitter. The Kremlin on Friday said Finland was making a "big mistake" by closing down border crossings and that Helsinki's move was destroying bilateral relations.

Persons: Mika Rytkonen, Jouko Kinnunen, Moscow's, Riikka Purra, Anne Kauranen, Attila Cser, Kevin Liffey, Terje Solsvik, Ros Russell Organizations: Finnish Border Guard, Kremlin, YLE, Finland, Border Guard, Twitter, MTV, Union, Frontex, Friday, Reuters, Finance, Finns Party, Thomson Locations: HELSINKI, Russia, Helsinki, Moscow, United States, Finland, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Salla, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, East, Africa, Nuijamaa, London

A view of the border between Russia and Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, Finland on November 15, 2023. The four border crossings - at Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Niirala in southeastern Finland - are normally the busiest points of travel between the two countries. Nearly 100 asylum seekers had entered Finland from Russia on Friday by midday, officials said. Finland shares a 1,340-km (833-mile) border with Russia that also serves as the EU's external border. Finland's ombudsman for non-discrimination said on Thursday Helsinki still had a duty under international treaties and EU law to allow asylum seekers to seek protection.

Persons: Helsinki, Matti Pitkaniitty, Pitkaniitty, Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen, Terje Solsvik, Gareth Jones Organizations: Finnish Border Guard, European Union, NATO, Kremlin, Helsinki, Thomson Locations: Russia, Finland, Lappeenranta, Finnish, HELSINKI, Vaalimaa, Russia's, Salla, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Moscow, Ukraine, United States

☆ An Uneasy Quiet at NATO’s Newest Border With Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Michael Crowley | More About Michael Crowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On a recent afternoon along Finland’s border with Russia, an attack from Russian military bases a few miles away seemed a distant prospect. That’s not only because, as NATO’s newest member, Finland now enjoys the guaranteed protection of 30 nations, including the United States — a development that President Biden will celebrate during a visit to Helsinki next week. It may be years before Russia poses a conventional military threat from across the verdant forest of pine, spruce and birch. But there were some Russians to be seen on a sunny June day at the Vaalimaa border crossing, about midway between Helsinki and St. Petersburg. A trickle came and went, many in expensive cars: an Audi Q7, a black BMW with two sleek bikes mounted on a rack.

Persons: That’s, Biden, It’s Organizations: Audi, BMW Locations: Russia, Finland, United States, Helsinki, Ukraine, St . Petersburg

"I feel it's a good thing that Finland is joining NATO. In Virolahti, near the Russian border due east of Helsinki, retired Finnish combat engineer Ilkka Lansivaara had hung his own NATO flag from the side of his house. Memories of Finland's close relations with Moscow to preserve independence - a tactic known as "Finlandisation" - run deep for many Finns. Finland brings a sizable, well-trained military into NATO and Russia has said it will have to take "counter-measures" to ensure Russian security in response. Meanwhile, Finland's close partner Sweden continues to wait for ratification of its NATO membership bid in the face of opposition from Turkey and Hungary.

☆ The number of Russians fleeing the country to evade Putin's draft is bigger than the original invasion force, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK's MOD said the number of fleeing Russians likely exceeds Putin's original invasion force. "Whilst exact numbers are unclear, it likely exceeds the size of the total invasion force Russia fielded in February 2022." According to the Associated Press, as of Wednesday at least 194,000 Russians have fled to Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland alone. Those conservative estimates already exceed what the US had estimated to be the 190,000-strong invasion force that massed at Ukraine's border just prior to the invasion. The UK's MOD noted on Thursday that "the better off and well educated are over-represented amongst those attempting to leave Russia."

☆ Fact Check-Video of queues at Russia-Finland border was taken more than three weeks before Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation announcement
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Russian president made the announcement on Sept. 21, marking the nation’s first mobilisation since World War Two amid a major battlefield reversal in Ukraine. Another user shared the same footage with the caption: “Border btw #Russia - #Finland after #Putin"s partial #mobilization” (here ). However, Reuters Fact Check has found the video predates Putin’s announcement. Both the director of Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Border Guard said on Sept. 21 that the situation at the Russia-Finland border was no different since Putin’s announcement, though this has now changed. Video showing lines at Russia Finland border predates Vladimir Putin’s announcement of partial mobilisation to fight in Ukraine.

☆ 'I am leaving Russia': young men flee draft, Finland to restrict entry
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cars queue to enter Finland from Russia at Finland's most southern crossing point Vaalimaa, around three hour drive from Saint Petersburg, in Vaalimaa, Finland September 23, 2022. Two days later, he was crossing the border into Finland. I am just for freedom, Russia (free) from Putin, democracy in Russia," he said, breaking into tears. Nikita was one of a dozen young men Reuters spoke to at the Vaalimaa border crossing in southeastern Finland, their number growing in the days since Putin announced the call-up of 300,000 military reservists. Traffic into Finland over its border with Russia was heavy on Friday.

☆ Finland says traffic on border with Russia remains busy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Cars queue to cross the border from Russia to Finland at the Nuijamaa border check point in Lappeenranta, Finland, September 22, 2022. Lauri Heino/Lehtikuva/via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterVAALIMAA, Finland, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Traffic into Finland across its southeastern border with Russia was busy on Friday, the border guard told Reuters, adding that the number of Russians who entered the previous day was more than double the number who arrived the week before. Finland is considering barring most Russians from entering as traffic arriving from its eastern neighbour "intensified" on Thursday following President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilisation. "This morning it remains busy ... maybe increasing a little bit from yesterday," a spokesperson for the border guard said early on Friday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Essi Lehto and Anna Ringstrom, writing by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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