Finland will close all but the northernmost border crossing with Russia.

To stop the flow of asylum seekers into the Nordic country, Finland will block all but the northernmost crossing point on its border with Russia starting at midnight on Friday, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Wednesday.

More than 600 individuals who arrived in Finland through Russia without proper travel credentials for the European Union since the beginning of the month prompted Helsinki to close several crossings and accuse Moscow of facilitating the flow of migrants into the country. The Kremlin refutes the accusation.

Orpo stated during a news conference, “The government has decided to close more border stations today.”

According to immigration authorities, the asylum applicants are from a variety of countries, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria.

According to a spokeswoman, in response to a request from Helsinki, the European Union border agency Frontex intends to send personnel and equipment as early as next week.

EU migration commissioner Ylva Johansson said on Tuesday Finland has sought for 60 Frontex personnel on top of 10 currently stationed along its 1,340-kilometre boundary with Russia.

Following 75 migrants’ attempts to enter from Russia since last week, the majority of them were from Somalia and Syria, Estonia earlier on Wednesday accused Russia of being involved in “a hybrid attack operation” to send refugees to its border.

The Baltic nation said that it was ready to deal with migrants who attempted to enter beyond authorized crossings and to restrict border crossings if Russian pressure to control migration increased.

On Wednesday, the Finnish border guard reported that illegal immigration was still occurring at Russian border crossing locations and had advanced northward to the frontier stations of Vartius and Salla, which were still accepting asylum requests.

Finland claimed that despite a consensus that those two crossing points were only accessible by car, Russia permitted refugees to pass them on foot.

“There are growing signs that the situation is worsening on the eastern border,” Orpo stated.

Except for the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the Arctic, Finland will close three of the remaining border crossing locations on Friday at midnight. The closure of all other border points for Finns wishing to enter Russia will continue until December 23.

“Raja-Jooseppi is the northernmost (border crossing) and it requires a real effort to get there,” Orpo stated.

He said that to avoid closing the border entirely, the administration will work to change the laws.

President Sauli Niinisto declared on Monday that it was now difficult to repatriate those who do not fit the requirements for asylum and demanded an EU-wide solution to halt unauthorized immigration into the passport-free Schengen area of Europe.

On Monday, the Kremlin said that it had officially protested Finland’s decision to close part of its border, claiming that the move was anti-Russian.

Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia accused Belarus, a strong ally of Moscow, of deliberately inciting a migrant crisis at their borders in 2021 by flying in individuals from the Middle East and Africa and trying to force them across the border. Belarus has refuted these accusations on several occasions.