A Russian reconnaissance plane briefly violated Swedish airspace on Saturday, officials in the Scandinavian country said, which has been studying the possibility of joining NATO since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“A Russian AN-30 helicopter violated Swedish airspace on Friday,” the Swedish Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that its teams recorded the whole incident and took photos.
The plane was east of Bornholm [ilha dinamarquesa no mar Báltico] Then I headed to Sweden.”
Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist condemned the Russian move.
“It is absolutely unacceptable to violate Swedish airspace. This act is unprofessional and, given the general security situation, is extremely inappropriate. Swedish sovereignty must always be respected,” Hultqvist wrote on SVT public television.
“It is clear that we will protest through diplomatic channels,” he added.
In early March, four Russian warplanes briefly entered Swedish airspace, east of the Baltic island of Gotland.
The invasion of Ukraine caused Sweden, a nonaligned country, to change its position on possible membership in NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
Currently, 54% of Swedes approve of membership, according to a Novus poll published on Saturday.
The Swedish Social Democratic government has set a May 24 deadline for deciding whether to apply to join NATO.
