Finland scrambled jets after it suspected two Russian aircraft of entering the country's airspace over the Gulf of Finland without permission, the Nordic state's defense ministry said Wednesday.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia and maintains generally cordial relations with its vast eastern neighbor, but the Ukraine crisis has seen many politicians in the EU member state toughen their tone towards Moscow.
"The airforce undertook operative identification flights," a Finnish defense ministry spokesman said, and added that the border guard was examining data on the possible violations.
The incidents happened within two hours of each other over the Gulf of Finland on Tuesday afternoon.
The ministry said the planes were state aircraft, a term which refers to aircraft used in military, customs and police services. It gave no further detail.
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