The Finnish authorities, who previously announced that they would tighten control over the issuance of visas to Russians of conscription age (details here), published statistics on border crossings in two days – immediately after the entry ban imposed by the Baltic states. According to the Finnish border service, 6,500 Russian citizens entered Finland on Monday, September 19, and Tuesday, September 20.
The high flow of tourists from Russia to Finland is explained by the fact that currently, the country of lakes is the only land route by which Russians can reach other countries of the European Union, which have not imposed an entry ban on them.
As explained by the European mass media, Finland became the only country neighboring Russia that allowed entry to those who meet the entry rules. As a reminder, on Monday, September 19, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland introduced a ban on entry for Russians and decided not to issue Schengen visas to them.
Thus, since the Russians could not use the borders of other neighboring European countries, the number of those who decided to enter Finland increased significantly. According to data provided by the Finnish border service, 3,099 citizens of the Russian Federation officially entered Finland through the eastern border on Monday, and another 3,403 of them entered on Tuesday. In addition, it was revealed that up to 35% of Russians who arrived in Suomi during these two days had valid Schengen visas.
Finnish authorities also recently reported that the number of Russians arriving in their country is likely to increase due to Putin’s announced partial mobilization. Thus, on September 22, the Finnish border service announced that the traffic on Finland’s eastern border with Russia increased overnight. The authorities have not yet disclosed additional information on the number of Russian citizens entering Finland since the decree was issued to call up 300,000 reservists.
While Finnish authorities have yet to make any official statement on the matter, three Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – have said they will not accept Russians fleeing partial mobilization.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told Reuters that Russia’s refusal to fulfill its civic duty is not a sufficient reason to grant asylum in Estonia or any other country. “The refusal to fulfill one’s civic duty in Russia or the desire to do so is not a sufficient reason for granting asylum in another country,” the official said. In addition, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevičs cited security reasons for the refusal on his official Twitter account.
Earlier on September 20, Finland addressed a letter to the EU, in which it asked to introduce uniform rules for recognizing Russian visas as invalid and banning entry for our fellow citizens, read more at the link.