Finland to close all but one of its border crossings with Russia

Finland will close all but one of its border crossings with Russia, reports Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

Four of the crossings that are currently operational will be closed on the night of November 24. The Raja-Jooseppi crossing, the northernmost checkpoint, is the only one that will continue operating.

The border crossings will reportedly be closed until February 23.

In mid-November, Finland closed four of its nine border crossings with Russia against the backdrop of a sharp increase in the number of migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to enter the country through the Russian border.

Some European politicians and officials suspect that Russia is artificially creating a migrant crisis at Schengen zone borders. The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has called this view “very strange.”