The Russian Embassy in Helsinki has warned its citizens not to travel to Europe in cars with Russian license plates, as those can be confiscated following new EU sanctions.
The notice follows the latest EU Commission sanctions that ban Russians from bringing any vehicles across the bloc’s borders, regardless of the purpose of use.
“Considering the potential risks, we recommend Russian nationals avoid travelling to Finland with cars with Russian license plates,” the embassy said in a statement on its website on Sunday.
A similar warning was issued by the Russian Embassy in Berlin earlier this week, as the authority warned Russians to avoid travelling to the European country due to the possibility of “seizure” of cars.
The EU imposed its first sanctions against Russia in 2014 after Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia. Ever since, and especially since the war in Ukraine, these sanctions have been greatly expanded and become even more stringent.
The EU Commission confirmed earlier this month that Russian nationals are banned from taking many personal items when travelling to the EU, which includes personal cars, smartphones, even soaps and toilet paper.
The authority also explained that the ban covers all vehicles that have a Russian license plate as well as those registered in Russia, with the duration of the car’s stay in the EU being irrelevant, while the clarification followed incidents recorded on Friday after the German authorities confiscated private Russian cars entering the country.
The EU Commission reinstated that all Russian nationals visiting the EU cannot add anything that is listed in Annex XXI to the EU regulation. This Annex includes more than 180 categories of goods that include cameras, types of bags, women’s clothing, soap, perfumes, footwear as well as toilet paper.
Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, criticised the move and called the EU ‘racist’ for their approach towards Russians.
“There are simply no justifications for this, no reasons. Representatives of civil society, culture, and various scientific fields are facing this. When visas are not issued, planned events are cancelled, and they are not allowed to attend certain conferences and competitions. This is nothing but racism.” Zakharova told TASS on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on Monday.
She also recalled another incident, which she named a ‘wild manifestation of Nazism’ when a Russian journalist was banned from attending a press conference by French President Emmanuel Macron only because of his Russian nationality.
