DISINFO: Russia had nothing to do with the migration crisis on the Finnish border
SUMMARY
The Kremlin regretted the closure of the checkpoints, pointing out that Russian border guards followed official instructions and only let through those who have the right to do so.
RESPONSE
Disinformation narrative about the events on the border between Finland and Russia, which resulted in Finland temporarily closing some border crossings with Russia on 16 November 2023 after a steep rise in irregular migration.
This is part of a wider pro-Kremlin campaign aiming to instrumentalise migration as a hybrid weapon against the European Union and Finland, most likely as a retaliation for this country’s decision to join NATO.
Since late October 2023, Finland has been experiencing a sudden increase in the number of migrants and asylum seekers trying to enter the country from Russian territory. The responsibility of the Russian government in this surge is patent. Human traffickers have explained to Finnish state broadcaster Yle that they work in cooperation with the Russian authorities. When Finland closed all but one border crossing in the Arctic, Russia reacted by transporting dozens of migrants by bus to this remaining spot, as the governor of the Murmansk region Andrei Chibis announced publicly. On 28 November, the Finnish Prime Minister announced that Finland would close its border with Russia for two weeks. Freight traffic will be allowed between the two countries
Read similar disinformation cases on Finland such as Finland’s sealing of Russia border is illegal and ordered by the US, Finland organised the migration crisis as a pretext for closing borders after joining NATO and Finland shuts Russia border crossings as revenge for lost wars and Western bombs cause refugee surge on Russia-Finland border.