'Tour de Helsinki': Russia's alleged scheme to flood Finland with migrants
Finland's immigration crisis seems to have found resolution. The sight of foreigners at the Russian border on bicycles seeking asylum isn't common anymore. Instead, theories have come to light about the Russian operation titled "Tour de Helsinki".
3:42 PM EST, November 29, 2023
The local media, citing Murmansk governor Andrij Czybis, report that migrants from North Africa and the Middle East are being redirected south again. It appears some are being expelled by court order. The Norwegian online newspaper "Barents Observer" highlighted the information released via Telegram by a renowned war blogger. On Tuesday, the VTSK-OGPU channel, followed by nearly 840,000 people, carried news about this "Tour de Helsinki".
Quoting confidential sources from the Russian FSB, the blogger disclosed that the operation to channel migrants to Finland was ordered directly by Vladimir Putin's close associate, Sergei Kiriyenko. The mandate given out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs involved assembling a group of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa, equipping them with bicycles, and transporting them towards the border for a "Tour de Helsinki" ride.
The initiative gathered several hundred migrants who staged an "attack" on the Finnish border, as stated by the blogger in the "Barents Observer". The strategy was similar to Belarus’s, which involved a flood of migrants at the Poland border. However, the blogger claims that the operation ended in colossal failure as Finnish forces quickly intervened. Their swift and stringent reactions, closing off nearly all border crossings with Russia, effectively foiled Kiriyenko's plan.
Since August, around 900 migrants have succeeded in reaching Finland from Russia to seek asylum. Helsinki shut a total of seven border crossings with Russia. As of November 24, only the Raja-Jooseppi checkpoint in Inari remains open, as reported by the Norwegian newspaper. The Finnish Prime Minister, Petteri Orpo, made public his suspicion that Moscow is behind the sudden surge in migration.
