Finland summons Russian ambassador after possible airspace violation

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Russian Ambassador Pavel Kuznetsov to provide clarification in connection with the alleged violation of the country's airspace on May 23. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports Finnish broadcaster Yle.

Russia will be handed a note demanding clarification of the situation.

Finland suspects two Russian planes of violating its airspace off the coast of the city of Porvoo in the south of the country.

Defense Minister Antti Häkkinen stated that Finland is taking the incident seriously, and the Gulf of Finland Border Police has already launched a preliminary investigation.

The last time a Russian plane violated the Finnish border was in February: the ship was in the country's airspace in the Gulf of Finland area for several minutes.

• NATO fighter jets, which perform air patrol functions in the Baltic states, flew twice in mid-April to identify and escort Russian aircraft that violated flight rules.
• On April 26, it was reported that a Russian helicopter violated Polish airspace.