Finland closes border to Russians with tourist visas

Finnish border guard speak with Russian men at the Vaalimaa border check point between Finland and Russia in Virolahti, Finland, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. (Sasu Makinen./Lehtikuva via AP)

Finland’s border with Russia has been closed to Russians with tourist visas, cutting off one of the last easily accessible routes to Europe for Russians trying to flee a military mobilisation aimed at bolstering the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

Long queues were reported until midnight at the border crossings. Among the last to enter Finland were two cyclists who arrived a little before 11pm, Finnish broadcaster YLE reported from Vaalimaa, one of the main border crossings between the Nordic country and Russia.