Speaking during a visit to the eastern region of Kainuu on 16 November 2025, President Alexander Stubb said that Russia’s war in Ukraine is unlikely to pause over the winter and that Moscow will keep using “hybrid attacks” against its neighbours. He specifically cited the influx of third-country asylum-seekers channelled through Russia in 2023–25 as a textbook example of such pressure and warned that the phenomenon could resume at short notice.
Stubb’s comments come as Finland approaches the second winter with all eight land crossing points to Russia shut. The government first closed the frontier in December 2023 after more than 1 000 undocumented migrants—mainly from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan—arrived by bicycle or on foot. A temporary “push-back” law allowing border guards to refuse asylum applications at the eastern border was extended by Parliament until the end of 2026. The President stressed that the closures and the controversial law “remain necessary until the security environment normalises.”
![Finnish President warns of prolonged hybrid pressure, signals continued tight border controls]()
For companies moving staff into or out of Finland, the remarks signal that overland travel via Russia will stay impossible for the foreseeable future. Multinationals that previously relied on road freight or shuttle buses between St Petersburg and Helsinki must continue to reroute cargo and personnel through Helsinki-Vantaa Airport or Baltic Sea ferries. Mobility managers should also expect tight screening of Russian and Belarussian passport holders when applying for Schengen visas or Finnish residence permits, as authorities maintain a high level of vigilance.
Stubb urged EU partners to show *sisu*—the Finnish concept of resilience—and called for accelerated implementation of the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) in October 2025. He argued that fully digital external borders will help all Schengen states detect “instrumentalised migration” earlier and share data in real time. The President also confirmed that Finland will finish the first 70 km segment of its 200 km border fence by March 2026, adding surveillance towers and thermal cameras funded in part by the EU’s Internal Security Fund.
Practical take-away: Employers with Russian operations should brief transferees that the land border is closed “until further notice,” build extra lead-time into logistics, and monitor Finnish government advisories for any change. Business travellers entering Finland from Russia by air or sea must carry valid Schengen visas and evidence of accommodation and onward travel, as border officers continue to apply enhanced scrutiny.
Stubb’s comments come as Finland approaches the second winter with all eight land crossing points to Russia shut. The government first closed the frontier in December 2023 after more than 1 000 undocumented migrants—mainly from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan—arrived by bicycle or on foot. A temporary “push-back” law allowing border guards to refuse asylum applications at the eastern border was extended by Parliament until the end of 2026. The President stressed that the closures and the controversial law “remain necessary until the security environment normalises.”
For companies moving staff into or out of Finland, the remarks signal that overland travel via Russia will stay impossible for the foreseeable future. Multinationals that previously relied on road freight or shuttle buses between St Petersburg and Helsinki must continue to reroute cargo and personnel through Helsinki-Vantaa Airport or Baltic Sea ferries. Mobility managers should also expect tight screening of Russian and Belarussian passport holders when applying for Schengen visas or Finnish residence permits, as authorities maintain a high level of vigilance.
Stubb urged EU partners to show *sisu*—the Finnish concept of resilience—and called for accelerated implementation of the EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System (EES) in October 2025. He argued that fully digital external borders will help all Schengen states detect “instrumentalised migration” earlier and share data in real time. The President also confirmed that Finland will finish the first 70 km segment of its 200 km border fence by March 2026, adding surveillance towers and thermal cameras funded in part by the EU’s Internal Security Fund.
Practical take-away: Employers with Russian operations should brief transferees that the land border is closed “until further notice,” build extra lead-time into logistics, and monitor Finnish government advisories for any change. Business travellers entering Finland from Russia by air or sea must carry valid Schengen visas and evidence of accommodation and onward travel, as border officers continue to apply enhanced scrutiny.
