A Russian military plane may have violated Finnish airspace today, the Finnish Defense Ministry said, quoted by Agence France-Presse, BTA reports.
The incident occurred in the afternoon off the coast of Porvoo, in southern Finland, about 50 km east of Helsinki, the ministry said in an official statement.
“The investigation into the alleged airspace violation was launched immediately“, said Defence Minister Antti Häkkinen, adding that the case had been handed over to the coast guard.
Such incidents have become more frequent since Finland joined NATO in 2023, following the start of the war in Ukraine. A previous case was registered on May 23, when Helsinki accused two Russian military aircraft of violating its airspace. In response, the Russian ambassador to the country was summoned for an explanation.
In mid-May, Minister Häkkinen told AFP that Finland was “carefully monitoring and analyzing Russia's actions and intentions“. The statement came after a report in The New York Times showing satellite images of expanding Russian military infrastructure near the Finnish border.
Finland shares a 1,340 km land border with Russia. Moscow has repeatedly warned Helsinki of the possible consequences of its NATO membership.