At present, Russia is effectively blocking unauthorized border crossings on its own side.
Border Guard prepares for disruptions at the eastern border, which could lead to an increase in, for example, the number of unauthorized border crossings and asylum seekers.
The head of the Border Guard, Lieutenant General, spoke about the matter Pasi Kostamovaara at a press conference on Tuesday. According to him, Russia is currently blocking unauthorized border crossings “very effectively” on its own side.
“Of course, this is something that could change,” Kostamovaara said.
“It could be seen in the way that more unauthorized border crossings would take place at the land border from Russia to Finland and, on the other hand, more asylum seekers from Russia to Finland would come to the border crossing points.”
Kostamovaara and Commander of the Defense Forces, General Timo Kivinen held a joint press conference in Ivalo on Tuesday. They were present to inspect the activities of the Lapland Border Guard and conscript training.
Government released last week current report On the change in the Finnish security environment.
If Finland decides to apply to NATO, the report says it should be prepared for Russia’s “wide-ranging and unpredictable influence and risks, such as the increase in tensions on the Finnish-Russian border”.
Read more: Here is a summary of the key issues in the report
Kostamovaara spoke about the preparation of the eastern border when asked at the event what the mentioned influence and risks could mean.
Kivinen, for his part, said that a significant part of Russia’s troops near the border were concentrated in the direction of Ukraine.
Russian traffic at the border is currently significantly less than normal, according to Kostamovaara less than ten percent of normal.
“Recent restrictions and sanctions on border traffic have further reduced it.”
Ukrainian asylum seekers also arrive via the Russian border, currently in about 50-100 days. According to Kostamovaara, a total of about 200 Ukrainians applying for international protection now arrive in Finland every day.
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