Russia announced that it would temporarily suspend operations at several rail border crossings with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, according to a report by Euronews. The Kremlin did not provide an official explanation for the move, saying only that it was a "temporary suspension" of the movement of people, vehicles, goods and cargo through the selected border crossings.
The Russian government said in a statement that the Russian Foreign Ministry had been asked to inform Finland, Estonia and Latvia of the decision. Most of the closures concern crossings on the Finnish border, including Vyborg, Vyartsilya, Lyuttya, St. Petersburg-Finlyandsky and Svetogorsk. The Pechory-Pskov crossing on the border with Estonia and the Pytalovo crossing on the border with Latvia will also be shut down.
One possible explanation for the move is the growing tension with Finland. A few days ago, Helsinki announced that it would cooperate with the American defense company Lockheed Martin to establish the first maintenance center in Europe for multiple-launch rocket systems. The announcement drew harsh reactions in Russia, with a senior member of the State Duma Defense Committee, Alexei Zhuravlyov, accusing Finland of turning into a "second Ukraine" and threatening that Moscow had the military capability "to destroy half the country."
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Finland has significantly stepped up its security preparations. Its land border with Russia has been closed since 2023, and Helsinki has accused Moscow of carrying out hybrid operations and expanding military infrastructure along the border. At the same time, an investigation published recently in Denmark claimed that Russia was significantly expanding its military presence near NATO's border as part of possible preparations for a future confrontation with the alliance.
Another possibility raised in reports is that the move is linked to preparations for a new mobilization wave in Russia. According to various reports, authorities in Moscow are considering announcing another mobilization as early as this fall, possibly after the State Duma elections scheduled for Sept. 18-20.
The commander of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has also assessed that Russia could launch another mobilization wave in the fall. According to officials in Kyiv, Moscow is preparing to recruit tens of thousands of new soldiers to compensate for the heavy losses it has suffered on the battlefield.
According to data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russia had suffered around 1.2 million casualties in the war by the end of 2025, including up to 325,000 killed. Estimates indicate that Russia needs to recruit more than 30,000 new soldiers each month to fill its ranks. Ukrainian intelligence claims that in the first three months of 2026, around 70,500 people signed military recruitment contracts, about 30,000 fewer than the target set by Russia's Defense Ministry.
It was also reported that large-scale mobilization exercises were held in mid-June in the Volgograd region, with representatives from nearby regions taking part. Russia claimed that it was a routine drill held every year.
