Last EU train out of Russia arrives in Helsinki

Just after 7pm on Sunday, the Allegro expresstrainfrom St Petersburg pulled into the Finnish capital, marking the closure of thelastrail link betweenRussiaand theEU.

Finnish railway operator VR announced on Friday that it was suspending the Allegro service, which sinceRussia's invasion of Ukraine has been regularly sold-outwith Russians eager to getoutbefore Western sanctions make leaving all but impossible.

"Now that I've picked up my cats I don't have a reason to go back, I have everything that's most valuable to me," said Alex, who got off thetrainwheeling a carry case containing his two long-haired pets.

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The Muscovite who has lived for some years inHelsinkigave only his first name.

"The situation inRussiahas become more complicated," university student Ivan told AFP, travelling with his mother from Moscow where he studies back to his home in Portugal for the Easter holidays.

He is due to return to the Russian capital for his exams in a few weeks.

"I can't tell how I'm going to get back to Moscow, we'll see how this situation gets resolved," he said.

Despite a lack of official statistics, thousands of Russians are reported to have left their country since the invasion.

With airspace closures grounding direct flights to Europe, those wishing to leaveRussiahave turned to flights via Turkey and Belgrade, or to road and rail.

Since the February 24 invasion, around 700 passengers a day have packed the trains to Finland, with the service remaining open at the request of the Finnish authorities to allow Finns inRussiato exit the country if they wanted.

However, on Thursday the government informed VR that "operating the service was no longer appropriate" in light of the heavy sanctions againstRussia, and all trains were cancelled from Monday.

Symbol of partnership

Run jointly by Finland andRussia's national railways, the cross-border Allegrotrainwas a symbol of partnership between the two nations when it opened in 2010.

President Vladimir Putin and his then Finnish counterpart Tarja Halonen travelled on the inaugural service, which cut travel times on the 400km (250 mile) journey betweenHelsinkiand St Petersburg down by two hours to 3.5 hours.

"I hope it will operate normally again very soon," said Aliya, in her late 50s, who works inHelsinkibut regularly visits her friends and family in St Petersburg.

The interruption of the service will make life more difficult but "people will find a way to make the journey anyway if they have the opportunity", she said.

Although many Russians have reportedly sought to leave since the start of the war, the Allegro link toHelsinkihas only been open to a select few.

Moscow stipulates that passengers must be Russian or Finnish citizens, and a visa is required as well as proof of anEU-recognised Covid vaccination -- not the Sputnik dose which is most commonly given inRussia.

Most passengers arriving in the Finnish capital have therefore been Russians who live, work or study in Europe.

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