Norway has said it will close its border to Russian tourists, shutting their last direct access to Europe's border-free Schengen area.
As of 29 May, most Russian tourists will not be able to enter Norway, which shares a 198km border with Russia in the Arctic, the government said in a statement.
"The decision to tighten the entry rules are in line with the Norwegian approach of standing by allies and partners in the reactions against Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," Minister of Justice and Public Security Emilie Enger Mehl said in the statement.
Norway, a member of NATO but not of the EU, stopped issuing most tourist visas to Russians in spring 2022, after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
But holders of long-term visas that had been issued before or those who had visas from other Schengen member countries could still cross via the Storskog-Boris Gleb border crossing, the only one between the neighbours.
From 29 May, they will no longer be able to do so, the statement said.
Exceptions will be made for work and study, and those visiting close family residing in Norway.
Although not a member of the European Union, Norway works closely with the bloc, which had already adopted similar measures toward Russians in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Schengen border-free area includes most European countries and allows people to travel freely within its borders.
Four killed in Russian strikes on Kharkiv: governor
Russian strikes on the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv killed four people, the regional governor said Thursday, in the latest aerial bombardment on the war-battered hub.
The surrounding region of Kharkiv has become the latest flashpoint of the war after Russian forces launched a surprise ground offensive in the border territory this month forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents.
"According to preliminary data, four people were killed in the strike on Kharkiv. The location of two more people is being established. Russian army struck at least 15 times," Governor Oleg Synegubov said in a post on Telegram.
Mayor Igor Terekhov said earlier that another six people were injured.
Kharkiv, which is the second-largest city in Ukraine and lies just dozens of kilometres from the border with Russia, has been under persistent shelling since Moscow's forces invaded in February 2022.
They have in recent weeks made their biggest territorial gains in the war-battered east of the last 18 months as Ukraine waits for desperately needed US and European weapon supplies.
The advances in Kharkiv have forced nearly 11,000 people to flee their homes since Moscow launched its ground assault on 10 May, regional officials said.
Russian authorities meanwhile said that Ukrainian attacks on the border region of Belgorod and in the occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk left two dead.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his army launched the offensive in Kharkiv to create a buffer zone that would protect Russian border villages from Ukrainian attacks.
