Russia has temporarily suspended the movement of people, vehicles, and goods through seven railway border checkpoints on its borders with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia, effective July 1. The order, signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, was published on the official legal information portal.
On the border with Finland, five checkpoints were closed: Vyborg and Svetogorsk in Leningrad Oblast, Värtsilä and Lyttä in Karelia, and St. Petersburg-Finlyandsky. On the border with Estonia, the Pechory-Pskovskiye checkpoint in Pskov Oblast was closed, while the Ivangorod cargo-passenger checkpoint remains open. On the border with Latvia, the Pytalovo checkpoint in Pskov Oblast was closed, while the Sebezh cargo-passenger checkpoint continues operating.
The document does not specify the reasons for the closures or their duration. Russia's Foreign Ministry is required to notify the authorities of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia of the decision.
Before the order, only two of the seven checkpoints — Pechory-Pskovskiye and Pytalovo — were still functioning. The border with Finland has been fully closed since late 2023 under a decision by Finnish authorities.
Separately, the Northwestern Customs Administration reported queues on the Estonian side of the Narva border checkpoint, opposite Russia's Ivangorod. According to eyewitnesses cited by the agency, lines of people seeking to enter Russia at times reached 350 people, with wait times stretching to tens of hours, and for some, more than a day.
Russian customs officials noted that since June 15, the Narva checkpoint has been operating on a reduced schedule — from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (previously until 11:00 p.m.). Additionally, since August 2024, Estonian authorities have been conducting lengthy checks of citizens and their luggage traveling to Russia, which, according to the Russian side, reduces throughput. The Estonian edition of Delfi also reported multi-kilometer queues at Narva the day before.