Finland forced to scramble fighter jets TWICE in one day to intercept Russia's warplanes
MILITARY chiefs in Finland have blasted Russia after they were forced to scramble fighter jets to intercept war planes which strayed into Finnish airspace twice in one day.
Finland scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian SU-27 planes
Finland said it was taking the two suspected violations “seriously” after being forced to dispatch its jets to identify Russia’s SU-27 fighters over the Baltic Sea.
The incidents took place as Finland and the United States prepared to sign an agreement of closer defence collaboration.
Finland has accused Russia of a string of similar breaches since the Ukraine crisis erupted in 2014.
Jussi Niinisto, Finland’s defence minister, said: "We take these incidents seriously.
Swedish army responds to Putin threat on Gotland
“Having two suspected violations on the same day is exceptional."
Helsinki said two different SU-27s planes were involved in separate incidents on Thursday.
Russian SU-27 fighters
Russia's SU-27 entered Finnish airspace
However, Moscow denied its aircraft was involved in any violation.
A spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry said: "The plane did not veer off its route during the flight, which is confirmed by data of the control monitor system.”
Finland says the matter is being taken seriously
In April, two Russian warplanes flew simulated attack passes near a US guided missile destroyer in the Baltic Sea.
Concerned about Russian military activity in the region, Finland, which has a land border of more than 1,300 km (812 miles) with Russia, has tightened defence cooperation with Sweden and fostered closer ties with NATO.
Robert Work, US deputy secretary of defence was due in Helsinki on Friday to sign a cooperation deal with Finland that would not contain obligations for military assistance but would cover areas like military training and information sharing.