Finland shuts more Russia border points, says asylum inflow must stop

A view of closed gates at the Raja-Jooseppi international border crossing station before its opening in Inari, northern Finland on November 24, 2023. Finland closed all other checkpoints on Finland's border with Russia because of the flow of third-country migrants via Russia. The only remaining open checkpoint is now the Raja-Jooseppi border station in Finnish Lapland. Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen via REUTERS

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Russia must stop sending asylum seekers across its frontier into Finland in what amounts to a "hybrid attack", Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Friday, after the Nordic nation temporarily shut all border passenger crossings bar one.

More than 800 migrants from nations including Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland via Russia in recent weeks, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.