Moscow Starts to Close Border Crossings with Baltic Countries and Finland

Russia has decided to temporarily close some of its border crossings with Latvia, Estonia, and Finland as of July 1. The Russian government's decision affects certain railway border crossings, including the closure of some checkpoints such as St. Petersburg-Finlandskiy and Vıborg stations. The government stated that all passages on the designated routes have been temporarily suspended. Moscow implemented this measure starting from July 1 and instructed the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to officially inform the administrations of Riga, Tallinn, and Helsinki. The closed border crossings include the Vartsila and Lyuttya checkpoints in the Karelia region on the border with Finland, as well as the Svetogorsk border checkpoint in the Leningrad region. Additionally, the Peçorı-Pskovskiye checkpoint on the border with Estonia and the Pıtalovo checkpoint in the Pskov region on the border with Latvia are also included in the closure. This step is seen as a significant development in Moscow's border policy. Russia did not disclose the reasons behind this decision, but experts have begun to assess the potential consequences of this move.