All train traffic between Finland and Russia was suspended for several hours on Wednesday evenings to prevent the onward transport of blocked goods to or from Finland.
The border crossing of freight trains at the Finnish-Russian border in Vainikkala was closed late on Wednesday due to a traffic jam.
Plenty of goods still arrived in Finland across the border before EU sanctions were imposed on 23 February, the day before the attack.
On Wednesday, Member States agreed on new sanctions, including new restrictions on the export of maritime navigation and radiocommunications technology. They also expanded the list of sanctioned sites to 862 individuals and 53 communities.
"We had to ensure that supplies subject to new sanctions were not brought into Finland," said Eljas KoistinenCommercial Director of Transpoint, VR’s freight logistics subsidiary.
Border crossings received information on the latest sanctions on Wednesday night. According to Koistinen, several trains were prevented from entering Finland. Otherwise, freight traffic returned to the “new normal” on Thursday morning.
No technical products for Russia
Customs carries out part of the inspections of rail freight at ports and loading bays.
"Sanctions are aimed at preventing the export of high-tech products to Russia, which could affect the maintenance of military capabilities." said Mikko GrรถnbergDirector of Customs Control – and a former official in the European Union Consultative Mission in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be asked for an opinion on the suspended deliveries, which will ultimately decide whether the products can be exported to Russia.
Hundreds of Russian wagons stopped
Hundreds of Russian wagons have been stopped in Finland and are not being processed for the time being due to sanctions.
"We are currently in discussions with customers and various parties about what is happening to them. At the moment we are not dealing with them in any way," Koistinen told Yle. VR refused to say where the wagons were located.
Russian cargo transit traffic through Finland has practically stopped, as shipping companies do not receive shipments to or from Russia. Even the largest international freight forwarders did not accept new transport orders for deliveries to Russia on Thursday.
Source: The Nordic Page