Finland summoned a Russian diplomat twice in June 2025 after Russian warplanes violated Finnish airspace in two separate incidents within three weeks. AFP/GETTY IMAGES
REUTERS
Finland’s foreign ministry summoned a Russian diplomat on June 11, 2025, over a suspected violation of Finnish airspace a day earlier, the second such event in less than three weeks. One of the newest NATO members, Finland reported June 10 that a Russian military aircraft entered its airspace off the coast of Porvoo in the southern part of the country and that the Finnish Border Guard was investigating.
“The foreign ministry has invited Russia’s acting head of mission to speak on the issue today,” the Finnish ministry said in a statement to Reuters. Russia’s embassy in Helsinki did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Finland summoned Russia’s ambassador on May 26 over an incident in the same area involving two military aircraft. The Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecommunications link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with the NATO alliance boosting its presence in the area with frigates, aircraft and naval drones.
Russia regularly stages provocations on NATO’s eastern flank, which includes Baltic countries Finland and Poland. On May 22, two Russian aircraft violated Finnish airspace, while the day prior Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian Su-24 bomber in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, MSN.com reported.
Russian aircraft frequently fly from its exclave, Kaliningrad. The jets often disable their transponders, fail to file flight plans and do not establish contact with regional air traffic control — a pattern NATO officials describe as high-risk behavior, according to MSN.com.
Since the start of Russia-Ukraine war, NATO officials have increasingly warned Moscow could attack the alliance’s members.