Kremlin says freezing of Finland’s bank accounts was forced retaliatory step

The Kremlin said on Thursday that a decision to freeze the bank accounts of Finnish embassies and consulates in Russia was a response to what it called the unfriendly acts of “the collective West”, including Finland.
Officials from Finland and Denmark said on Wednesday that the diplomatic bank accounts of both countries in Russia had been frozen, prompting their embassies to make payments in cash.
Finland, which has a long border with Russia, formally joined NATO on April 4 in a historic policy shift triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine, something Moscow calls “a special military operation.”
Russian embassies across Europe have had problems with their bank accounts since, and in some cases have had funds confiscated to punish Moscow for its actions in Ukraine.