HELSINKI, May 05 (AFP): A Russian army helicopter violated Finland's airspace on Wednesday, the Finnish defence ministry said, as the country mulls a potential NATO membership bid, which it hopes would be speedy.
"The aircraft type is a Mi-17 helicopter and the depth of the suspected violation is about four to five kilometres", a ministry spokesman told AFP.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at 10:40 am (0740 GMT).
This is the second Russian airspace violation this year, following a previous one in April, both of them coming in the wake of the war in Ukraine. A civilian transport plane belonging to the Russian army briefly entered Finnish airspace on April 8.
Experts have warned that Finland and Sweden would likely be subjected to Russian acts of interference as they consider whether to join NATO as a deterrent against aggression from their eastern neighbour.
Hostile acts such as cyberattacks are also considered likely, according to analysts, who have however said that the risk of a military attack was low. A large majority of Finnish MPs and the public are in favour of joining the Atlantic Alliance, and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is to announce his personal stance on the issue on May 12.
Moscow violates Finnish airspace
FE Team | Published: May 05, 2022 21:00:19
Moscow violates Finnish airspace
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