Moscow has ramped up military activity in the Baltic Sea to shield its sanctioned “shadow fleet,” Finland’s defense minister has said, warning that Russia remains a “dangerous neighbor to all of Europe.”
Speaking to Finnish Public Broadcaster Yle on Saturday, Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen said Moscow’s provocative actions at sea and in the air are escalating tensions in the Baltic Sea— a region already under intense pressure since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Häkkänen’s comments follow an incident on Friday when two Russian military aircraft were suspected of violating Finnish airspace off the coast of Porvoo, a city on Finland’s southern coast along the Gulf of Finland, the eastern arm of the Baltic Sea.
Following the incident, the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard said it had launched a preliminary investigation into the incident.
“We take the suspected airspace violation seriously, and an investigation is underway,” Häkkänen said in a statement on Friday, adding that the aircraft involved were Russian fighter jets.
Increased provocations
On the same day, Poland’s Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz reported that Polish fighter jets intercepted a Russian tactical bomber performing “dangerous” maneuvers in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening and involved a Soviet-era Su-24 aircraft, which was deterred by Polish jets at the request of allied NATO forces in Europe.
Earlier on Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland launched a military intervention after a ship from Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet was seen making “suspicious maneuvers” near an undersea power cable in the Baltic Sea.
The vessel was eventually driven off following a patrol flight by Polish armed forces.
Last week, Estonia reported a Russian combat jet entering its airspace after the country’s Navy attempted to stop a shadow fleet vessel, prompting a response from Portuguese F-16 jets based in the country as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission.
Growing tensions
The recent incidents have compounded tensions in the Baltic Sea, a region that has seen a series of suspected sabotage incidents targeting underwater power lines, telecom links, and gas pipelines since Russia’s-full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Western nations suspect the involvement of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” a flotilla of unregistered and aging oil tankers reportedly used to circumvent sanctions imposed in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
These attacks have pushed NATO and the EU to enhance security in the strategically vital region.
‘An aggressive neighbor’
Speaking to Yle, Häkkänen said that Russia’s military presence in the Baltic is not new, but its active military protection of the shadow fleet marks a significant shift.
“What is new is that Russia is now protecting tankers belonging to its shadow fleet in the narrow waters of the Gulf of Finland. This has involved military escort operations and the presence of armed forces,” he said.
“I don’t see any immediate threat to Finland. But it’s clear that Russia is strengthening its military capabilities and remains an aggressive and dangerous neighbor to all of Europe,” the minister added.
The Baltic Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, is bordered by NATO members Poland, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, along with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.