A Russian military aircraft is suspected of having violated Finnish airspace in the eastern Gulf of Finland, near Loviisa, on the morning of June 10, 2024.
The aircraft reportedly entered Finnish airspace for around two minutes, flying approximately 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) beyond the border.
“We take the suspected territorial violation seriously and the investigation has been started immediately,” stated Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen.
The investigation will be conducted by the Finnish Border Guard. The type of aircraft involved was not specified.
NATO’s Allied Air Command reported that allied fighter jets had to scramble daily over the Baltic Sea due to increased Russian activities associated with NATO exercise Baltic Operations 2024, held in the region from June 7 to 20, 2024.
On the day of the alleged airspace violation, German Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, currently deployed to Lielvarde Air Base in Latvia as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, intercepted an Ilyushin Il-20 COOT electronic reconnaissance aircraft escorted by two Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker fighter jets.
— Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe) June 10, 2024
The German fighters are the first to operate from Lielvarde. Estonia’s Ämari Air Base, which usually hosts the northernmost detachment of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, is undergoing renovations from March 1, 2024, to the end of November 2024.
