A Finnish man was detained on suspicion of illegally crossing the state border in Parikkala, the Finnish Border Guard announced on 20 June.

The Southeast Finland Border Guard received an alert from technical surveillance equipment near the state border in Parikkala’s Pitkäpohja area on 20 June. A border patrol detained the Finnish man on suspicion of a state border crime, according to the Border Guard statement.

“The man is suspected of illegally crossing the state border in terrain from Finland to Russia and back to Finland,” the Border Guard reported.

An investigation has been launched into the incident.

The Southeast Finland regional border delegate contacted the Russian Vyborg regional border delegate regarding the case. The Southeast Finland Border Guard continues investigating the incident and will not provide further information.

This marks the latest in a series of recent border incidents. On 17 June, the Eastern Finland Border Guard in North Karelia detained a foreigner suspected of illegally crossing the state border from Russia to Finland.

Finland closed border crossing points with Russia at the end of last year due to artificial migration pressure and authorized border guards to block asylum seekers from that country. In January 2025, the Southeast Finland Border Guard detected a border crossing in the Karhusuo area of Imatra, where a minor border violator remained in Russia as of early February.

The recent incident occurred as Finland maintains heightened border security measures along its eastern frontier with Russia.

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