Russian reconnaissance plane violates Swedish airspace

Tensions are rising in the Baltic Sea. A Russian reconnaissance plane briefly violated the airspace SwedenOn Saturday, employees of this Scandinavian country that is considering possible membership in NATO After the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “A Russian AN-30 helicopter violated Swedish airspace on Friday evening,” the Swedish Defense Ministry wrote in a statement, adding that its teams followed up and filmed the entire incident.

“The plane was east of Bornholm (a Danish island in the Baltic Sea) and then headed towards Swedish territory,” the brief statement said. The Swedish Defense Minister condemned the incursion. “It is absolutely unacceptable to violate Swedish airspace (…) This act is unprofessional and, given the general security situation, is absolutely inappropriate. Swedish sovereignty must always be respected,” Peter Hultqvist wrote on SVT public television. “Of course we will protest through diplomatic channels,” he added.

Possible candidacy for NATO

At the beginning of March, four Russian warplanes briefly violated Swedish airspace east of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Sweden, and its non-alignment, caused a swing of opinion toward a possible NATO candidacy. A majority of 54% of Swedes would now support NATO membership, according to a survey conducted by the Novus Institute and published on Saturday.

The Social Democrats in power in the Scandinavian country expect to reach a decision on a possible NATO nomination by May 24. In Finland, its powers They are also planning to join NATOA Russian government aircraft, an IL-96-300, also violated Finnish airspace for three minutes in early April.