Two days later, he was crossing the border into Finland. “It’s just crazy. All my friends (are) in danger,” said the sound engineer, minutes after entering the Scandinavian country. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up He had first left Russia after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine for Turkey and had returned for a short visit to pick up some documents. Now he plans to return to Turkey. “It’s just crazy. I’m just for freedom, Russia (free) from Putin, democracy in Russia,” she said, breaking down in tears. He declined to give his last name. Nikita was one of dozens of young men Reuters spoke to at the Vaalimaa border crossing in southeastern Finland, their numbers growing in the days since Putin announced the call-up of 300,000 reservists. They were traveling on tourist visas but said they either weren’t coming back or were considering not. “I’m leaving Russia,” said Alexander, 21, who was on his way to France. Traffic in Finland across its border with Russia was heavy on Friday. But the Finnish government, wary of becoming a major transit nation, plans to bar all Russians from entering on tourist visas within the next few days, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference in New York. “All tourist travel will stop,” Haavisto said. Exceptions may still apply on humanitarian grounds, but avoiding military conscription is unlikely to be grounds for asylum, he said. The Finnish border guard said the number of Russians who had entered the previous day was more than double the number who arrived the previous week. About 7,000 people entered from Russia on Thursday, about 6,000 of them Russian, according to border guards. Max, a 21-year-old Russian student who declined to give his last name, said he was going to Finland to catch a flight to Germany to visit relatives. “Technically, I’m a student, so I shouldn’t be afraid of being drafted, but we’ve seen things change very quickly, so I guess there’s a possibility,” he told Reuters. “I just wanted to be safe.” A Russian couple, 29-year-old Slava and 35-year-old Evgeniy, also left because of the uncertainty that they would ever be drafted. They had decided to leave by the time Putin announced the partial mobilization on Wednesday, they said. They had left their dog Moby behind with friends. Their families were crying when they left, they said. “At this stage, we are not in demand, but we don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow,” Slava told Reuters. “We don’t support what’s happening now. We don’t want to be a part of it.” “It was a difficult decision (to leave). We have plans, we have careers. The best scenario is to go back. On the other hand, (saving our lives) is necessary.” Finnish land borders have remained among the few entry points into Europe for Russians, after a number of countries closed both their physical borders and airspace to Russian planes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At Vaalimaa, the busiest crossing point, cars lined up for up to 400 meters (440 yards) on Friday, a longer queue than the day before, a border official said. “Compared to Friday last week, we have more traffic,” Vaalimaa station deputy chief Elias Lain told Reuters. “We expect traffic to remain busy over the weekend.” Those who arrived by car or bus left their vehicles to have their papers checked before continuing their journey. Border guards searched some vehicles. Lines were also “longer than normal” at the second longest Nuijamaa crossing. Finland has chosen to keep its border with Russia open following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine, although it has reduced the number of consular appointments available to Russian travelers seeking visas. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Essi Lehto in Vaalimaa and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm. written by Stine Jacobsen and Gwladys Fouche. edited by Terje Solsvik, Angus MacSwan and Jonathan Oatis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
