Finland Keeps Eastern Border with Russia Closed Indefinitely

The Finnish government declared that the border crossings on the country's eastern frontier with Russia will remain closed until further notice, while continuing to prioritize the processing of international protection applications.

This announcement was made in an official statement published on the Finnish government's website, which stated, "On June 4, 2026, the government decided to keep the checkpoints on the eastern border closed and to continue focusing on procedures for submitting international protection requests. This decision will remain in effect until further notice."

Previously, the Finnish government had taken a similar decision on April 16, 2025, as part of a series of measures Helsinki began implementing in November 2023 to restrict border crossings with Russia.

Finnish authorities accuse Russia of deliberately directing asylum seekers toward the Finnish border, a move Helsinki claims aims to destabilize the region.

In response, Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, denied these allegations, describing them as "an embodiment of Western double standards," and affirmed that Moscow is not involved in the migration crises affecting European Union countries.

The ongoing closure of the border occurs amid unprecedented tensions in Russian-Finnish relations, particularly following Helsinki's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 2023, which led to a fundamental shift in the nature of border and security cooperation between the two nations.