Russian jet incursion prompts immediate investigation by Finland
In the Gulf of Finland region, a Russian military aircraft crossed into Finnish territory. The suspected aircraft operated within approximately 2.4 kilometers from the border for about 2 minutes, the Finnish Ministry of National Defense reported. It was the first such incident in almost two years.
The incident occurred on Monday morning in Loviisa, about 90 kilometers east of Helsinki. Minister Antti Hakkanen said, "We take the suspected border violation seriously, and an investigation was initiated immediately."
The last time Russia was confirmed to have violated Finnish airspace was in August 2022, when two Russian fighter jets flew over the Gulf of Finland.
Finnish forces participate in NATO mission
On Monday, the Finnish News Agency STT reported that seven Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets are beginning a historic operation for Finland to patrol the airspace over Romania and Bulgaria as part of a NATO mission.
As part of NATO's Air Shielding mission, Finnish pilots will operate from the Romanian base near Constanța. It is only a few hundred kilometers from there to the Russian-occupied Crimea, including the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol, the dispatch emphasized.
"As NATO, we are not approaching there and do not provoke in any way. Our goal is to protect and secure NATO airspace over Romania and Bulgaria," said Lt. Col. Rami Lindstroem, commander of the Finnish squadron stationed daily in Karelia.
Finland was admitted to NATO on April 4, 2023, and Finnish fighter jets already participated in securing the NATO summit in Vilnius in July of last year.
