Russia temporarily closes railway checkpoints on borders with Finland, Estonia and Latvia
The Russian government has decided to suspend traffic from July 1 through several railway checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, with no explanation provided.
The Russian government has issued an order to temporarily suspend the movement of people, vehicles, goods and cargo through several railway checkpoints on the state border, effective July 1, 2026. The largest number of checkpoints will be closed on the border with Finland, including Vyborg, Vyartsilya, Lyuttya, St Petersburg-Finlyandsky and Svetogorsk.
Rail traffic will also be completely halted on the Russia-Estonia section via the Pechory-Pskovskie checkpoint and on the border with Latvia, where the Pytalovo checkpoint will cease operations. Russia's Foreign Ministry has been instructed to notify Finland, Estonia and Latvia of the decision. No explanation was given for the closures.
Background: Finnish President Alexander Stubb has downplayed concerns that Russia might soon test NATO's Article 5 by attacking an alliance member. Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service believes Russia has no intention of launching a military attack on any NATO state this year or next, but will continue rebuilding its armed forces due to concerns over European rearmament.
