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Finland accuses Russian helicopters of violating its airspace

Finland’s Defense Ministry said a Russian military helicopter violated the country’s airspace on May 4, as Helsinki was considering joining NATO.

“The type of aircraft that carried out the Russian incursion was a Mi-17 helicopter, which flew over the border about 4-5km towards Finnish territory,” a spokesman for the Finnish Defense Ministry said, according to Time. Moscow newspaper.

This is the second time Helsinki has accused Moscow of violating its airspace this year. Before that, a civilian transport plane of the Russian military briefly moved into Finnish airspace on April 8. The two countries share a border of more than 1,300 km long.

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A Russian military helicopter operates in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Photo: Reuters

Finnish authorities are conducting a preliminary investigation into the incident, while the Russian side has not yet responded to this information.

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said that the possibility of an aircraft is not ruled out Russia the airspace violation is related to the ongoing Arrow 22 international military exercise in the southwestern village of Niinisalo. The exercise involves the Finnish military with NATO members such as the UK, the US, Latvia and Estonia.

Finland and Sweden are said to be promoting plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), right in May. According to analysts, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the main reason why the two countries This Scandinavian country is considering abandoning its traditional neutral security policy and wants to fall under the umbrella of NATO umbrella.

The majority of Finnish parliamentarians and the public are in favor of joining NATO, and Finnish President Sauli Niinsto is expected to announce his personal position on the matter on May 12. Meanwhile, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on May 4 that her government would make a decision on joining NATO “quite soon”, possibly within the next few days.

The Russian side has warned that it could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles on the outskirts of Kaliningrad – Russia’s overseas territory located between Poland and Lithuania, if Sweden and Finland are admitted by NATO as members. pellets.

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