A Russian army helicopter violated Finland’s airspace on Wednesday morning. The aircraft flew four to five kilometers across the border, according to the Finnish Ministry of Defense. The ministry has launched an investigation.
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It is the second time in a month that a Russian aircraft has entered Finnish airspace. On April 8, a Russian army transport plane flew over Finland for a short time. Swedish airspace was also violated by Russian military aircraft in March and April.
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NATO membership
Those incidents are seen by experts as Russian provocations as Finland and Sweden consider joining NATO. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden feel less safe in the vicinity of Russia. At the moment, both countries are working closely with the military alliance.
A membership would provide better protection. Russia is strongly against this and has previously said that there are ‘consequences’ if these countries actually join NATO.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will reveal his personal stance on NATO’s candidacy on May 12. According to Finnish media, the decision could be made sometime in the coming days.
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