In the past two weeks, more than 500 asylum seekers, mostly from Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, have arrived in Finland from Russia, prompting Finland to close half its border crossings.

On Monday (November 20) the Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, appealed to EU member states to work together to find a solution to the situation, which Finland says is an attempt by Russia to destabilize his country.

"One concrete measure … might be to raise the discussion once again at the European Union level, because the question is of EU borders, not only Polish, Finnish or national borders," he said.

Also read: Finland considers closing border crossing points with Russia

Poland 'ready to help Finland'

Niinistö made the comments during a two-day state visit to Poland, an EU state that saw a large rise in migrants attempting to enter from Belarus in 2021.

Finland’s government has accused Russia of deliberately sending asylum seekers towards Finland in retaliation for Finland’s joining the NATO military alliance in April.

The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, said the situation along Finland’s eastern border was caused by a "Russian hybrid operation," and said that if necessary, Poland was ready to help Finland manage the situation, Finnish state media Yle reported on Monday.

But Russia denied that it was funneling migrants to the border and said Finland’s decision to close checkpoints reflected its anti-Russian stance. "Border crossings are used by those who have the right to do so," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

Tension at crossing points

Finnish authorities on Friday closed the four main border crossings in an effort to contain the number of "illegal" migrants. In a statement on Saturday the border guard said there were clear indications that "authorities of a foreign state or other operators" were behind the increased arrivals.

At closed border points, Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa and Imatra, barricades have been built blocking all traffic, and applications for international protection are no longer accepted. Asylum seekers are told to go to the crossing points at Vartius and Salla, which remain open. Migrants were seen arriving on bicycles at Vartius on Sunday.

The border guard insists it is capable of controlling the phenomenon of illegal entry where necessary "by requests, prohibitions, obstructions and necessary means." On Saturday, it reported on X that the situation on the land border was "calm."

However, other reports said there were scuffles at the barricades of the closed border crossings. According to Reuters, asylum seekers at the Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa crossings, which are blocked off with razor wire barriers, lit a campfire in the open despite sub-zero temperatures.

Finland’s tabloid newspaper Iltalehti reported that Russian authorities forced migrants into the border zone at the Vartius crossing, closed the gates behind them and forced them to seek entry to Finland, according to Yle.

Iltalehti also said hundreds of asylum seekers arrived in Kostamus, a town on the Russian side of the border, on Sunday afternoon.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia. On Friday, the European Union border agency Frontex told the Reuters news agency that it planned to send officers to Finland to help protect the border.

According to Reuters, Finland's ombudsman for non-discrimination said Helsinki had a duty under international treaties and EU law to allow asylum seekers to seek protection.

With Reuters