Finland has closed all but one of the eight checkpoints on the border with Russia, Norway has not yet seen any violations

Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight border crossing points with Russia in response to an unusually high influx of migrants, which the Scandinavian country blames on Moscow. Norway has not yet seen any violations on the border with Russia, but is "ready to take the necessary measures to maintain order at the border." This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.

Finland

More than 700 migrants from countries such as Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland through Russia in the past few weeks. Helsinki claims that Moscow is smuggling them to the border, but the Kremlin denies the accusation.

After closing four checkpoints last week, Finland immediately closed almost all remaining passenger crossings for a month, except for the northernmost, located in the northern Arctic region, Raja-Josepi checkpoint.

The Finnish Border Guard reported that the Raja-Josepi crossing opened to traffic at 08:00 GMT on Friday and will continue to accept asylum applications during its four daily opening hours.

In addition, the Finnish Border Guard said on Friday that it expects dozens of officers from the EU's Frontex border agency to help patrol the 1,340-kilometer border with Russia starting next week.

"Their task will primarily be to patrol the land border under the supervision of Finnish border guards and support them," border security expert Arttu Maaranen told Reuters.

He said that border guards are preparing for all scenarios, including when migrants try to enter Finland through the forests that run along the border.

"We have requested the equipment necessary for monitoring and surveillance, including a vehicle with a thermal imaging camera," he said.

Norway

Norway, which borders Russia north of Finland, has not seen any violations so far, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Friday during a visit to the Estonian capital Tallinn.

He said Norway is monitoring the situation on the Finnish-Russian border and is in close contact with Helsinki and Tallinn - both NATO allies - on the issue.

"We are ready to take the necessary measures to maintain order on the border, but so far we have not detected any violations," said Har Støre. Estonia

Estonia

Estonia, like Finland, accused Moscow of sending migrants to its border with Russia as part of what its interior minister called a "hybrid attack operation."