Copenhagen, 7 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Finland is expelling nine employees of the Russian embassy in Helsinki, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and the government of acting Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday.

The embassy employees were said to have been working for Russian intelligence and had violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

At the same time, Niinistö and the Finnish government condemned the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, calling this a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe.

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Finland, like Sweden, applied for NATO membership.

Finland became a member of the Western defence alliance at the beginning of April. The Swedes still need the approval of Turkey and Hungary for admission.

Finland is the EU country with by far the longest border with Russia, stretching 1,340 kilometres.

Photo: MIA archive