Finland has summoned Russia’s ambassador and issued a diplomatic note after a Russian military reconnaissance aircraft allegedly entered Finnish airspace for about three minutes in the western Gulf of Finland.
The Finnish Border Guard said the aircraft was a Russian Ilyushin IL-20 reconnaissance plane. The suspected violation took place south of Utö on Thursday afternoon.
At its furthest point, the aircraft flew about 4.7 nautical miles, or 8.7 kilometres, inside Finnish territory, according to the Border Guard.
The Border Guard has started a preliminary investigation into the incident. Investigators have not released the aircraft’s full flight path or established why the plane entered Finnish airspace.
Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs summoned Russian ambassador Pavel Kuznetsov on Friday and requested an explanation from Russia over the incident. The ministry later said it had delivered a diplomatic note to Russia concerning the suspected violation.
The incident occurred in the western Gulf of Finland, south of Utö, an island at the edge of Finland’s Archipelago Sea. The area lies close to maritime and air routes linking the Gulf of Finland with the Baltic Sea.
Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said Finnish authorities treat each suspected territorial violation as a serious matter.
“Every suspected territorial violation is taken seriously. The investigation is under way,” Häkkänen said in a Defence ministry statement issued on Thursday.
The IL-20 is a military aircraft used by Russia for reconnaissance and intelligence missions.
Finland shares a land border of more than 1,300 kilometres with Russia and has territorial waters and airspace in the Baltic region. Finland joined NATO in April 2023.
HT