Finland has said it will close all but one crossing point on its border with Russia in an effort to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, as
Estonia accused Moscow of mounting “a hybrid attack operation” on Europe’s eastern border.
The announcement on Wednesday came after weeks of tension on the 830-mile (1,330km) border across which Helsinki accuses Moscow of guiding refugees and migrants in an apparent act of revenge for the Nordic nation’s cooperation with the US.
From midnight on Friday, said the Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo, the only open border crossing of Finland’s eight stations would be its northernmost at Raja-Jooseppi.…
Estonia has made preparations to follow in the footsteps of Finland
and close border crossings if “the migration pressure from Russia escalates”, the interior minister, Lauri Läänemets, told Reuters through a spokesperson.
“Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border officials and possibly other agencies are involved,” said the minister. “Quite frankly, [the] ongoing migration pressure on Europe’s eastern border is a hybrid attack operation,” he added.
Russian officials were not immediately available to comment.