Geopolitics
Russian Helicopters Violate Borders Of Finland and Georgia
Radioteleskop w Parkes, fot. Ian Sutton, Wikipedia, CC BY 2.0
Russian helicopter penetrated the Finnish border. The rotor-craft flew 9 kilometres into Finland, and did not respond to the radio calls made the border authorities and the air force. A similar incident also took place in Georgia.
Both events were recorded on 10th December 2015. Finnish border patrol announced that a helicopter penetrated the Finland’s airspace at 10 AM, over the Finnish bay. The rotor-craft in question did not respond to the warnings sent via radio, and it remained in the Finnish airspace for six minutes. Then, after reaching the Haapsaari island, the helicopter returned to Russia.
Most probably, the above incident involved the Ka-27 helicopter, operating from one of the ships of the Baltic Fleet. The Fins have submitted an official protest regarding that issue, asking for clarification. Reaction is expected within the upcoming weeks. Local investigation pertaining the issue is also being carried out at the moment.
A similar incident also took place in Georgia, early in the morning. According to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter flew from Southern Ossetia and, for several minutes, was flying in the Georgian airspace. The Mi-8 helicopter with Russian roundels was observed over the police station in Mereti, 2 kilometres from the border.
Russian Ministry of Defence denied the operations of military helicopters in the vicinity of the Russian border with Georgia. What’s interesting, no announcement has been made, pertaining the incident that took place close to Finland.