The European Union on November 17 accused Russia of making a "shameful" use of migrants to put pressure on other countries, saying it had noted an increased number of undocumented asylum seekers crossing Russia's border to Finland. Helsinki announced on November 16 that it will close four of its eight border crossings with Russia beginning this weekend because of the increased flow of asylum seekers. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Russia was deliberately seeking to destabilize his country in response to its accession to NATO this year.
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