Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Before November, around one asylum seeker a day from countries including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya and Pakistan entered Finland from Russia, according to the Finnish border guard. In November, that number increased to 900 asylum seekers over the month, in what Finland describes as a hybrid attack by Moscow. Finland joined Nato in April, doubling the military alliance’s border with Russia. Finland has already closed all but one border entry point, according to Reuters, and local reports suggest that it may soon close the whole border. Ulf Kristersson, Sweden’s prime minister said Russia was pushing migrants to the border “with the obvious aim to cause wider problems and create fragmentation in Western countries”. It mirrors a tactic used by Putin-ally Belarus, which was accused of orchestrating a migrant crisis on its EU borders in 2021.