On Saturday, Sweden accused Russia of violating its airspace as it moves closer to applying for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership.
Sweden accused Russia of violating its airspace with the An-30 aircraft (observations and aerial photography).
— The RAGE X (@theragex) April 30, 2022
Swedish Air Force fighters were sent to escort the Russian aircraft, the pilot of one of which took this photo.
#Sweden pic.twitter.com/xppR0DWjE1
A press release by the Swedish armed forces stated, “A Russian propeller plane of the type AN-30 violated Swedish airspace on Friday night. The plane was located east of Bornholm and then flew towards Swedish territory. For a short period, the plane violated Swedish airspace and then left the area.”
Speaking to SVT, Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist called the violation of Swedish airspace “totally unacceptable,” saying, “This action is unprofessional and given the general security situation, very inappropriate. Swedish sovereignty must always be respected.”
In a similar vein, Air Force Chief Carl-Johan Edström called Russia’s actions “irresponsible and unprofessional,” adding, “There is no reason to fly so close that you can accidentally enter a country’s territory, you may well be 10-15 kilometres from the border, then things like this do not have to happen.” He also noted that the violation lasted less than a minute.
In fact, this is not the first such incident. In March, four Russian fighter jets violated Swedish airspace when they flew over the Baltic Sea. Swedish Armed Forces noted at the time that two Russian SU27 and two SU24 fighter jets had “briefly entered” Swedish airspace to the east of the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.
Apart from Sweden, Denmark, which is already a NATO member, accused Russia of violating its airspace on Friday evening to the east of Bornholm before entering the Swedish airspace. Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod called the incident “unacceptable particularly worrying in the current situation,” affirming that Russian Ambassador Vladimir Barbin would be summoned to the Ministry on Monday.
Russia's actions follow a similar airspace violation in Sweden yesterday. It also follows Denmark's decision to supply a new batch of artillery to Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/eDOERBKcXq
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 1, 2022
Likewise, the Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that it would summon the Russian Ambassador to Stockholm, Viktor Tatarintsev, adding, “There exist established procedures for this kind of case. It concerns notably summoning the representative of the implicated nation to the foreign ministry.”
Russia’s airspace violations come shortly after Sweden and Finland announced plans to join NATO amid Europe’s deteriorating security situation following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
BREAKING: Denmark summons Russia's ambassador after a Russian spy plane violates its airspace
— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) May 1, 2022
Both Finland and Sweden have been wary of joining NATO due to the threat of Russian reprisals, fearing that they could be Moscow’s next target after Ukraine. However, most of the Swedish population is now in favour of joining the United States (US)-led military alliance. In a poll by Kantor-Sifo, 59% of respondents supported NATO membership, 24% remained undecided, and merely 17% opposed the membership. Along the same lines, a recent poll by Helsingin Sanomat in Finland reported that 61% approve of NATO membership, while only 16% are against it.
Both countries have also ramped up cooperation with NATO despite Russia’s threat of “political and military consequences.” In February, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, warned, “It’s obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is, first of all, a military organization, it will entail serious military-political consequences, which would require retaliatory steps by the Russian Federation.”
In fact, halfway through last month, Russia began moving its military equipment, including coastal defence systems, toward its 1,340-kilometre-long border with Finland.
However, despite warnings from Moscow, Helsinki and Stockholm continue to participate in NATO summits on the Ukraine crisis and in NATO-led war exercises.
The prospect of joining the Alliance will be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the Swedish and Finnish Prime Ministers, Magdalena Andersson and Sanna Marin, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday.
Finland which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, will now decide to apply for NATO membership on May 12.
— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) May 2, 2022
Russia has warned it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its enclave of Kaliningrad if Finland or Sweden decide to join the NATO alliance. pic.twitter.com/FJL1q1X1dO
The countries’ announcement regarding their intention to join NATO could be announced by May 16. According to local newspapers Iltalehti and Expressen, the Swedish government has asked Finland to delay its announcement so that both countries can reveal their intention to join the Alliance simultaneously. The two countries are reportedly currently assessing their security options before taking a final call.