Authorities in Finland announced this week that their border with Russia will be closed until further notice.
The two countries share 832 miles of border.
Finland initially closed its land borders with Russia in 2023 due to “weaponized migration” from Russia. Many migrants from countries like Syria and Somalia came through the border. This “weaponized migration” was presumably due to the fact that Finland joined the NATO military alliance.
"The risk that instrumentalised migration will resume and expand as seen previously remains likely," the government said in a statement, according to Reuters.
“The decision will be repealed or amended if it is no longer necessary to prevent a serious threat to national security or public order,” Finland’s ministry of interior added.
Last year, Townhall covered how Finland passed a temporary bill allowing border agents to turn away asylum seekers at its border with Russia. The legislation passed 167 to 31 and allows “pushbacks,” which forces people back over a border.
In a statement after the vote, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said: “I hope that this law will never have to be applied, but we are prepared.”
“This sends a strong message to Russia and to our allies. Finland looks after its national security and the security of the E.U. border,” Orpo added.
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According to Newsweek, Russia has beefed up military facilities along the border with Finland. Other nearby counties like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have “constructed fresh defenses, like mines and anti-tank obstacles, on their borders with Russian territory.”
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