Finland Faces Consequences Of International Sanctions Against Russia And Bid To Join NATO

IMATRA, FINLAND - MAY 25: Signs hang above passport controls at the quiet and nearly empty Imatra border crossing between Finland and Russia on May 25, 2022 near Imatra, Finland. Commercial activity between Imatra and the nearby Russian city of Svetogorsk, already hampered by two years of Covid-related restrictions, has been dealt a further blow by the international sanctions imposed on Russia due to its ongoing war in Ukraine. According to a Finnish border guard an average of 150 trucks would pass through the border at the Imatra crossing per day before the sanctions. Today he says the average is 12 to 15. While Finland has joined sanctions and also condemned the war wholeheartedly, it now faces consequences, especially after it submitted its application to join the NATO military alliance. Moscow, angered by Finland's NATO bid, halted natural gas supplies to Finland on May 21 in response. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)