Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that NATO’s new defence operation “Eastern Sentinel” also concerns the Finnish-Russian border. He said this on air on Yle Ykkösaamu.
According to him, Finland is involved in planning measures to strengthen defence and surveillance on the alliance’s eastern flank. Although Denmark, France, the UK and Germany are mentioned among the participating countries that have already announced their participation in the Eastern Sentinel, Orpo emphasised that Helsinki has also joined the process.
NATO approved the decision to create the operation after the incident of 10 September, when about twenty Russian Drones violated Polish airspace. Some of the drones were shot down by alliance aircraft.
Orpo said he did not believe in Moscow’s intention to “escalate the war,” but Russia, he said, was “testing the West’s reaction.” He stressed that shooting down drones and strengthening defences in the eastern direction “demonstrate NATO’s readiness to respond”.
The prime minister also expressed hope that this case would be a “turning point” in the West’s relations with Russia and would lead to “tougher sanctions and increased military aid to Ukraine.”
At the same time, Orpo emphasised that there is “no direct threat” for Finland so far. He recalled that his country had “significantly increased” defence spending after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Finnish leadership also joined the international condemnation of the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones.
Earlier, Polish authorities said 19 Russian Drones violated Polish airspace during a night attack on Ukraine on 10 September and were shot down by NATO forces. The operation involved Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS spy planes and NATO-shared refuelling aircraft.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that on the night of September 10, Russian forces launched a massive strike with precision weapons and drones against Ukrainian military-industrial complex companies in five regions, while “no targets were planned on Polish territory”.
However, the Polish government stressed that it had no doubt that the Russian drones on its territory were intentional and not accidental.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said after a meeting of the alliance’s ambassadors that NATO allies expressed solidarity with Poland and condemned Russia’s behaviour.