Frontex secures Russian-Finnish border
Following the closure of Finland's border crossings with Russia, 55 Frontex officials are to step up surveillance. The BBC reports that Russia is now recruiting stranded migrants from Somalia or Iraq for the front line in Ukraine.
55 officials deployed by the EU border protection agency Frontex have arrived in the Finnish border region with Russia. The task of most of them is to monitor the border with Russia, explained Frontex spokesman Piotr Switalski in the evening. The deployment is initially planned until the end of January, but this period could be changed "depending on requirements". Frontex announced the deployment of the border guards to Finland at the end of November. In recent months, the Finnish authorities have registered the arrival of around 1,000 migrants from the Middle East and Africa - mainly from Iraq, Yemen and Somalia - at the eastern border with Russia.
The government in Helsinki accuses Russia of smuggling undocumented migrants across the border in order to destabilize Finland, which has been a member of NATO since April. The EU Commission spoke of a "shameful instrumentalization" of the migrants by Moscow. Frontex spokesperson Switalski said: "We know that migration pressure is one of the tools used by the Kremlin and we can therefore expect this to continue."
Commenting on the current situation in the Finnish-Russian border area, Finnish border guard Ville Joskitt told the AFP news agency that there were still "large groups of migrants from third countries" in the area close to the border. Although some of them had moved to other parts of Russia in recent days, the current situation in the border area would continue "for a long time".
Russia sends migrants to the Ukraine frontline
According to a BBC report, the Russian authorities began arresting migrants after the border with Finland was closed in order to recruit them for the war against Ukraine. According to the broadcaster, the pretext for the arrests was that the Russian visas had expired. Human rights activists told the BBC about several cases in which refugees from Iraq and Somalia were recruited for the war. According to them, the Russian authorities managed to recruit dozens of foreigners.
Finland had closed all eight border crossings with Russia by the end of November in response to the growing number of migrants arriving. Russia and Finland share a land border of around 1,300 kilometers. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022.
In April, Finland joined NATO after decades of neutrality in the alliance. Moscow condemned joining the military alliance as an "attack on Russia's security" and announced "countermeasures".
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- Numerous oil, gas and coal lobbyists at climate conference
- The EU Commission strongly condemns Russia's alleged recruitment of migrants from Somalia and Iraq, accusing Moscow of using them as a tool to destabilize countries like Finland, which is a member of NATO.
- Amidst tensions between Finland and Russia due to border issues and Finland's recent membership in NATO, Frontex has increased its presence at the Finnish-Russian border, with 55 officials tasked with monitoring the area for any suspicious activities.
- Following Finland's closure of its border crossings with Russia after the influx of migrants, Russia has reportedly responded by arresting these migrants and potentially forcing them to fight in the conflict in Ukraine, as reported by the BBC.
Source: www.ntv.de
