The Russian Mi-17 helicopter arrived in Finnish airspace twice on the same day at the beginning of May, according to the results of a preliminary investigation announced by the Finnish Border Guard on Friday. However, it said the cases are not considered a serious violation.
The investigation found that the helicopter momentarily went into Finnish airspace twice from a few hundred meters on both occasions on the morning of May 4, when it was conducting a routine patrol near the border.
The first airspace violation occurred near the town of Kitee in North Karelia and the second near Lake Rautjärvi in South Karelia, less than 100 kilometers away.
The helicopter flew about 700 meters across the Finnish border near Kitee and about 500 meters near Lake Rautjärvi.
"The deviations were short-lived and the helicopter returned to Russian airspace on its own initiative." The Border Guard said in a statement.
The case is being discussed between the Finnish-Russian Border Commission in accordance with the countries’ border agreement.
The Ministry of Defense had originally stated that the aircraft violated Finnish airspace up to a distance of four kilometers, but the Border Guard investigation has found the case to be less severe than previously thought.
Source: The Nordic Page