Russian arrivals at the Norwegian and Finnish borders increased this weekend, officials from both countries said on Monday, after Moscow announced a partial mobilization to send fighters to Ukraine.
“Last weekend was the busiest period in terms of traffic on the eastern border,” Finnish border guard Mert Sasioğlu told AFP.
The border agency said about 8,600 Russians entered Finland via the land border on Saturday, and about 4,200 Russians crossed the other side. On Sunday, more than 8,300 Russians arrived and about 5,100 remained.
“The arrival rate has almost doubled compared to a week ago,” Sasioğlu said.
“The main reason is mobilization, but this is partly explained by Finland and Russia easing restrictions in the summer due to Covid-19,” he said.
Norway, which is not a member of the European Union but is part of the Schengen area (a region of 26 European countries that have lifted border controls), also reported a slight increase in arrivals from Russia to the northern Storskog border.
According to Norwegian police, 243 people entered Norway from Russia on Sunday, 167 of whom had Schengen visas, while 91 went to Russia.
But police explained that although traffic is expected to increase this week, these numbers are still lower than those recorded before the covid pandemic.
Other countries such as Georgia and Turkey have also reported an increase in the arrival of Russian citizens in recent days.
Finland announced on September 23 that it plans to “substantially restrict the entry of Russian citizens” and will make a decision on this issue “in the coming days”.
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© Agence France-Press
source: Noticias
