Finnish authorities have started looking for a solution to return refugees to Ukraine

The Finnish authorities are thinking about finding a legal way to return Ukrainian refugees to Ukraine. This was reported on December 20 by the portal Mtvuutiset, citing data from the Finnish Migration Service (Migri).

"Finland may again decide to return people to Ukraine, but according to the migration service, the threshold for this is still very high," the media outlet points out.

Migri's new migration policy implies that there are areas in Ukraine that have not been affected by the military conflict and people could return there without fearing for their lives. It is noted that so far in 2024, the service was able to make only three official decisions on return for Ukrainian citizens home. And in one case it was related to a man who committed several crimes.

"He has committed such serious crimes in Finland that it is considered that public order and safety are threatened to such an extent that the decision to deport him can be made regardless of the situation in Ukraine," said Olli Koskipirtti, head of the Migri deportation department.

Before that, on October 15, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that the West was tired of supporting Ukraine. According to her, the fatigue is "real" and it is only getting bigger. At the same time, Valtonen urged her Western colleagues to "redouble their efforts" to help Kiev.

In July, the Finnish parliament approved a bill to limit the admission of refugees and their expulsion, which could determine the opening of the border with Russia. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, speaking to reporters, specified that Helsinki had received authorization from the European Council to introduce these measures. In addition, the bill was discussed personally with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.

European countries started to accommodate Ukrainian refugees on their territories since the beginning of Russia's special operation to protect Donbas, which the Russian Federation announced on February 24, 2022.