The number of Russian citizens entering Finland has fallen after new Finnish restrictions came into force, border guards said on Saturday, who have faced an influx in recent days following a military mobilization order in Russia.
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After the closure of the country’s borders to Russian citizens holding European tourist visas went into effect at midnight (5:00 p.m. Montreal local time) on Thursday evening, only 1,688 entries were registered on Friday, about three times fewer than the previous day. , according to official statistics.
“The number of entries has decreased significantly since the restrictions came into force,” the border protection authority stated on Twitter.
As of Thursday, that number was still over 5,200. In the days after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “partial” mobilization order for the war in Ukraine last Wednesday, there were about 7,000 to 8,000 a day.
Many Russians of military age have fled abroad via neighboring countries, including Finland, since that announcement.
In the face of numerous passages by Russian holidaymakers, which had caused controversy in the Nordic country, Finland had imposed restrictions in the summer as early as August, dividing the number of tourist visas issued by ten.
The partial mobilization order had hastened Helsinki’s decision to partially close the border, joining the actions of the other EU countries bordering Russia (Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
However, entry for compelling reasons (family, work, etc.) or for humanitarian reasons as well as asylum applications remains possible.
However, Russians met by AFP at the border expressed disapproval of Finland’s decision, which risks thwarting the exit of men from Russia fleeing mobilization to Ukraine.