Russian ship suspected of violating Finnish maritime space
A Russian research vessel crossed Finnish territorial waters and covered about 1.2 nautical miles in 7 minutes. A Finnish patrolman tried several times to contact it without success.
Finland suspects a Russian research vessel of violating its maritime space on Friday, July 26, the Finnish Defense Ministry said. At around 12:31 p.m., “Mikhail Kazansky”A Russian research vessel of the Baltic Fleet crossed into Finnish territorial waters off the town of Hamina (south), the coast guard said in a press release sent to AFP. It traveled about 1.2 nautical miles before leaving these waters at around 12:38 p.m. A Finnish patrol boat was not far from the research vessel and tried to contact it several times without success, the coast guard added.
They will investigate the suspected violation of maritime space and will communicate once the investigation is complete. The incident comes as relations between the two countries, which share a 1,340-kilometre border, have deteriorated significantly since Finland joined NATO last year, with border incidents.
On June 10, four Russian military aircraft remained for about two minutes in Finnish airspace off the town of Loviisa (south), according to a press release from the Finnish ministry, about 2.5 kilometers inside the Nordic country. Finland closed its land border with Russia in December 2023, with Helsinki accusing Moscow of organizing the arrival of illegal migrants in order to destabilize the Nordic country. The influx of asylum seekers led the Scandinavian country to adopt a controversial bill in mid-July that would allow border guards to refuse entry to asylum seekers who arrive at the country’s eastern border without examining their application.
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