Ukrainians will no longer be permitted to enter Russia via Finland border crossings as the Russian authorities have decided to ban these entries.
As explained, Ukrainians can now only enter Russia through the Vientuli border crossing point in Latvia or via Moscow airport.
According to Yle, the decision of Russia to not permit Ukrainians to enter its territory via Finland was announced by the Russian Ministry of Transport, with Finnish authorities condemning such a decision.
The news of the ban reached Ukrainian travellers immediately. The deputy commander of the Southeast Finnish Border Guard, Jukka Lukkari, said that on October 16, only two citizens of Ukraine tried to reach Russia through the border crossing points in southeastern Finland.
However, he was not able to reveal whether these two Ukrainians were permitted to cross the border.
As Yle explains, most of the passenger traffic between Finland and Russia goes through the Imatra, Nuijamaa, and Vaalimaa border crossings.
Data provided by the Border Guard of Southeast Finland show that a total of 778 citizens of Ukraine entered Russia through these three border crossing points last week.
Regarding last month, the Border Guard said that around 1,860 Ukrainian citizens entered Russia via the border crossings in southeast Finland.
Currently, there is a large number of citizens of Ukraine living in Finland and Russia, as well as in territories that have been occupied by Russia. Ukrainians who plan to enter the territory of Ukraine need to travel through third countries, including Finland.
Earlier in September, the Ministry of Interior of Finland said that around 63,700 citizens of Ukraine had been granted temporary protection in the country since February 2022.
Moreover, the Ministry stressed that there are approximately 37,700 Ukrainians in the Finnish reception centre.
Taking into account the current situation in Ukraine, the Ministry further said that Finland will continue to provide temporary protection for Ukrainians until March 4, 2024.
In accordance with the Council decision, temporary protection is granted to people who have been forced to leave Ukraine as a result of Russia’s invasion, which began on 24 February 2022.
Temporary protection aims to guarantee a harmonised status as well as rights for all Ukrainians in the EU Member States. Additionally, the temporary protection mechanism also prevents the need to immediately apply for international protection, reducing the pressure on the asylum systems of the Member States.
