Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine

Finland will close its border with Russia and put barriers in place at midnight local time on Friday, the country’s Border Guard said Friday.

The government decided on Thursday to close four of its nine eastern border points with Russia, citing a recent spike in crossings of asylum seekers following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Our aim is to use barrier devices to prevent entry,” the Finnish Border Guard’s head of international affairs Matti Pitkaniitty told reporters, according to Reuters.

Helsinki has accused Russia of funneling people towards the Nordic country’s border after more than 200 asylum seekers arrived this week. Moscow denies the allegation.

“Illegal entry and the threat of its expansion pose a serious threat to the public order and national safety,” the Finnish Border Guard said in a statement on its website.

“For this reason, Finland restricts entry at eastern border’s crossing points starting on 18 November 2023.”

The restrictions will remain in place until Feb. 18, 2024.

– Elliot Smith

Russia’s Ministry of Defense on Friday claimed that it had shot down two Neptune anti-ship missiles launched from Ukraine towards Russia.

“Ukrainian missiles were detected and destroyed by air defense systems on duty over the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula,” the ministry said on Telegram, according to a Google translation.

CNBC was not able to independently verify these reports.

– Elliot Smith

Russian shelling killed six people and injured at least 10 in various parts of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson over the last 24 hours, local officials confirmed.

Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin announced on Telegram Friday that Russian forces had attacked residential areas of the central and Dnipro districts of the region.

“Over the past day, the enemy launched 58 attacks, firing 347 shells from mortars, artillery, Grads, tanks, UAVs and aircraft. The enemy fired 43 shells at the city of Kherson,” Prokudin said, according to a translation.

“The Russian military targeted the residential quarters of the populated areas of the region; administrative buildings and a store in the Kherson district; a medical institution, a shop, gas stations and a car wash in Kherson. As a result of Russian aggression, 6 people died, 10 more were injured, including 1 child.”

— Elliot Smith

Ukraine’s air force said Friday that it shot down nine out of 10 Russian drones over the Mykolayiv and Odesa regions in southern Ukraine, the central Zhytomyr region and the Khmelnytskyi region in the west.

The air force said on Telegram the 10 “Shahed” drones had been launched from the Primorsko-Akhtarsk area of southwestern Russia.

— Elliot Smith

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that any internal and external attempts to interfere with the 2024 presidential election in Russia will be suppressed, state media outlet TASS reported.

Putin said any measures necessary would be taken to prevent illegal obstruction of the election, including any pressure applied to the electoral process, according to a Google translation of his comments.

Putin has not confirmed if he will run for re-election next year, however various news reports have cited sources saying he plans to stand for election once again. If he were to be re-elected, his presidency could extend until 2030.

Russia has long been accused of interfering in the electoral processes of other countries, particularly the U.S. vote in 2016.

Last month, the U.S. released an intelligence assessment sent to more than 100 countries that found Moscow is using spies, social media and Russian state-run media to erode public faith in the integrity of democratic elections worldwide, Reuters reported. Russia has repeatedly rejected various accusations of interference.

— Sophie Kiderlin, Holly Ellyatt

A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the European Union’s latest set of proposed sanctions against Russia was part of a “hybrid war” led by the West, Reuters reported.

Through announcing the sanctions, the EU had become a “useful idiot” for the U.S., Maria Zakharova said, adding the U.S. was using Europe to aid its own policy goals. She reportedly added that the sanctions would have no effect and were to the detriment of the EU.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, proposed a 12^th sanctions package against Russia on Wednesday, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC. The sanctions include new import and export bans and steps to tighten the cap on oil prices amongst other measures, the spokesperson said.

— Sophie Kiderlin