Finland summons Russian ambassador over suspected airspace violation

Finland's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it had summoned Russia's ambassador and demanded an explanation after a Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft likely violated the country's airspace the previous day. The ministry made the statement on its account on X, according to Ukrainska Pravda's European Pravda.

According to the Finnish Border Guard, the suspected violation occurred in the western part of the Gulf of Finland and lasted about three minutes, with the aircraft penetrating roughly 8.7 kilometers into Finnish territory.

The Border Guard said it has opened a preliminary investigation into the suspected breach of territorial integrity and will publish the findings once the probe is complete.

Not the first incident

This is not the first such case in recent months. In late May, Finland's armed forces reported that a Russian military aircraft may have violated the country's airspace while trying to avoid a thunderstorm over the Gulf of Finland. An investigation in early June confirmed that a Russian military transport aircraft had indeed breached Finnish airspace on that occasion.