Growing numbers of asylum-seeking migrants have in recent weeks been crossing the once quiet border from Russia into Finland in freezing temperatures, a move Helsinki has labeled a hybrid attack.
Cloaked in heavy winter coats, many have been arriving on bicycles, attempting to bypass a ban on crossing the border on foot. Finland barred entry by bicycle last week.
In early October, the Finnish border guard raised the alarm about a shift in Moscow's policy, saying Russia was allowing an increasing number of migrants without proper papers to reach the border.