Nato member Finland says Russian ship sailed into its waters in territorial breach

COPENHAGEN – Finland said a Russian ship is suspected of a territorial violation in the eastern Gulf of Finland, the latest in a string of border breaches by Moscow.

The suspected breach of the Nordic nation’s waters occurred on the afternoon of July 26 and is under investigation by the Border Guard, according to a statement by the Defence Ministry.

No details were given on the vessel.

Territorial violations can be part of a toolkit – known as hybrid warfare – intended to put pressure on governments and scare citizens.

Generally falling short of conventional attacks that could trigger Nato’s collective response, various hybrid attacks have grown in frequency since

Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine

in early 2022.

In Finland, the previous incident took place in June, when four Russian state aircraft entered the nation’s airspace.

Finland, which

joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

in April 2023, has also seen multiple commercial aircraft prevented from landing at small airports because of interference with the Global Positioning System.

Its 1,300km border with Russia, which makes up half of Nato’s eastern flank, has been closed to all road traffic since late 2023, after

Russia began transporting migrants to the border

to put pressure on Helsinki.

The government has responded by beefing up its already strong military, passing legislation that allows the border guards to

push back migrants under exceptional circumstances

and bans property purchases if national security is considered to be at risk. BLOOMBERG