Minus one. Finland temporarily closed the Vartius border crossing point

One of the four remaining open border checkpoints on the Finnish-Russian border, Vartius (Lyttä), is temporarily closed and overloaded, Finnish media reported on November 18.

The Kainuu Border Guard warned on social media that the checkpoint was overloaded and recommended not to use it. The media are reporting a cluster of 5-10 refugees at the border who have problems with documents. Finnish customs is trying to turn them towards Russia.

41 asylum seekers passed through Vartius during the day. In total, 220 refugees crossed the country’s eastern border points.

Due to the influx of refugees from African countries from Russia, Finland at 00:00 on November 18 closed the main border checkpoints – Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Niirala and Imatra. Finnish border guards put up barriers and closed the barriers. Until now, the remote checkpoints Vartius, Kuusamo, Salla and Raja-Jooseppi remained open. Some asylum seekers reached them on scooters.

Some Finnish residents opposed the authorities’ decision to close the borders. Citizens created a petition, which has currently been signed by more than 9.7 thousand people. About a hundred people attended a protest rally in Helsinki.