Finnish ministry summons Russian envoy over airspace breach
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador in Helsinki regarding the alleged airspace violation by Russian military aircraft.
What do you need to know?
- Finnish MFA summoned the Russian ambassador in Helsinki, Pavel Kuznetsov, following the incident involving Russian military planes over the Gulf of Finland.
- The incident occurred near Porvoo, and the Finnish Defence Department reported it on Friday.
- Diplomatic measures have been taken, although the MFA has not yet issued an official statement.
What actions did the Finnish MFA take?
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the suspicion of airspace violation by two Russian military aircraft by summoning the Russian ambassador in Helsinki, Pavel Kuznetsov.
The Finnish Defence Department confirmed that the incident took place over the Gulf of Finland, close to Porvoo. Although the MFA has not issued an official statement, it has confirmed that diplomatic measures have been taken.
What do we know about the incident?
According to information from Finnish media, including Yle radio and the newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat," the matter is being taken seriously.
The head of the Defence Department, Antti Hakkänen, emphasised that the border guard is conducting the investigation. However, details about the type of Russian military aircraft involved in the incident have not been disclosed.
Is this the first incident of its kind?
This is not the first time Russia has violated Finnish airspace. The last such incident occurred at the beginning of February when a Russian government plane was in Finnish airspace for several minutes. On that occasion, the event occurred in the western part of the Gulf, near Hanko.
