Finnish and Swedish fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Gulf of Finland, the Finnish Air Force has confirmed. The aircraft were deployed under a joint framework to monitor and safeguard both countries' airspace, tracking down and identifying a group of Russian planes including a transport aircraft and several fighter jets.
Growing risk of limited attack
Denmark's Defence Intelligence Service has warned of a "low but growing risk" that Moscow could carry out a limited military attack against one or more NATO member states sharing its border. The agency said such an attack would be "a desperate move on Russia's part" and, like the intensified hybrid attacks, could potentially take place in the coming months.
Possible scenarios include isolated strikes with long-range weapons such as drones or missiles, or false-flag operations using drones made in Ukraine. Agency chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said Putin could also deploy troops into a NATO border area, ostensibly to protect Russian minorities. "The aim is not to take over the country, but to divide NATO," he told a press conference this week.
NATO response and warnings
NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte said earlier this month that strikes close to the alliance's territory would only drive an increase in support for Kyiv. He described Russia as "growing increasingly reckless as it continues its terrible war against Ukraine," adding that strikes "close to NATO territory" show Putin's "desperation and also his desire to sow fear and terror."
Rutte also pledged to bolster the 32-nation alliance's defences along its long eastern border with Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in hybrid warfare on European soil, though Germany recently blamed Russia for an attempted drone strike at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
