Russian reconnaissance aircraft suspected of violating Finnish airspace

A Russian reconnaissance aircraft is suspected of violating Finnish airspace over the Western Gulf of Finland on Thursday afternoon, said the Ministry of Defence and Finnish Border Guard in separate press releases on Friday.

The Russian IL-20 reconnaissance aircraft allegedly violated the airspace over south of Utö for about three minutes, said the Border Guard.

The aircraft was about 4.7 nautical miles into Finnish airspace at its deepest point during the violation.

The Finnish Border Guard is investigating into the incident and will provide more information later after completion of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry of Finland on Friday summoned the Ambassador of Russia and requested an explanation regarding a suspected violation of airspace, said the ministry in a post on its social media platform X.

Earlier in late May 2026, a Russian military aircraft was also suspected of violating Finnish airspace over the Gulf of Finland.