Finland will restrict the entry of Russians into the country with a “very strict” policy

Until now, Russian tourists have been able to enter the Schengen area by land through the Finnish border, unlike the Baltic countries and Poland, which imposed stricter restrictions to prevent such entries.

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The Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavistohas announced that Finland will finally restrict the entry of Russian citizens to the country with a new “very strict” policy that includes reducing the issuance of visas.

Haavisto has also mentioned that exceptions are contemplated for humanitarian reasons, although he has stressed that visas may be canceled individually at the border if they do not meet the requirements, according to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

For his part, the country’s president, Sauli Niinistohas specified that because “Finland was becoming the only land route that allowed Russians to travel” it was necessary to reduce “significantly” visas for all those who “do not have a special reason”, according to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

Finland and Russia share some 1,340 kilometers of border, the longest among all the countries of the European Union. So far, Russian tourists have been able to enter the Schengen area by land through the Finnish border, unlike Baltic countries and Polandwho imposed stricter restrictions to prevent these entries.

The Kremlin calls the reaction among the Russian population for the mobilization “hysterical”

On the other hand, the Kremlin today considered “hysterical” the reaction among part of the Russian population for the partial mobilization decreed on Wednesday by Russian President Vladimir Putin to send tens of thousands of reservists to the military campaign in Ukraine.

“One could somehow understand the hysterical, extremely emotional reaction in the first hours after the announcement, even on the first day, because, indeed, there was a certain lack of information, which is also understandable and justifiable,” said the spokesman for the kremlin, Dmitry Peskovin his daily telephone press conference.

The spokesman made these statements after the plane tickets to neighboring countries of Russia in which Russians can enter without visas were sold out and queues were formed at the borders with Kazakhstanthe border crossing Georgia, Finland and Mongolia coinciding with the beginning of the partial mobilization.