Russian aircraft violated Norwegian airspace Apr-Aug: PM Støre
In the period between April and August this year, Russian planes on three occasions violated the airspace over Eastern Finnmark, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre says.
“The incidents in Norway were less serious than the violations against Estonia, Poland and Romania, both in terms of location and duration. Nevertheless, we take these incidents very seriously,” the Norwegian PM says in a statement.
According to the Støre, two of the incidents occurred over the sea northeast of Vardø. The third occurred over an uninhabited area along the border in Eastern Finnmark. The violations reportedly lasted between one and four minutes.
“We cannot determine whether this was done deliberately or was due to navigational error. Regardless of the cause, this is unacceptable, and we have made this clear to the Russian authorities,” says Støre.
The first incident took place on April 25 when a Russian SU-24 fighter jet flew into Norwegian airspace over the sea areas northeast of Vardø. The aircraft flew through Norwegian airspace for four minutes, the prime minister’s office reports.
The second incident too place on July 24 when a Russian L410 Turbolet aircraft flew through Norwegian airspace over an uninhabited area along the border in Eastern Finnmark for three minutes. The third incident happened on August 18 when a SU-33 fighter jet flew through Norwegian airspace over the sea areas northeast of Vardø for one minute.
Several countries’ airspace challenged
The announcement from the prime minister comes as several NATO allies have reported Russian border violates in the Baltic region, in Poland and in Romania.
According to Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, the Norwegian government has addressed Russian authorities over the violations.
“The Norwegian authorities have dealt with these incidents directly and clearly with the Russian authorities with the aim of reducing the risk of misunderstandings and escalation,” he says.
“Even if this was due to navigational error, as a result of Russia operating with too small a margin of error, Russia has a responsibility to act in a manner that avoids misunderstandings and errors. If Russia deliberately challenges the airspace of several countries, this is a very serious matter,” he adds.
The statement from the Norwegian government came after the North Atlantic Council in the morning the same day met at the request of Estonia, under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, to consult and strongly condemn Russia’s dangerous violation of Estonian airspace on 19 September.
It is not clear why the Norwegian government has withheld information about the incidents. According to Barents Observer Editor Thomas Nilsen it is remarkable that the Government did not earlier inform the public about the violations of Norwegian sovereignty.
“Støre should explain to us in Eastern Finnmark why he withheld information for months,” Nilsen writes in a comment on Bluesky.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Canadians in North see U.S. as Arctic threat on par with Russia: survey, Eye on the Arctic
Denmark: Denmark flexes in Arctic with Greenland drills, signaling ongoing security push, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Finnish Air Force hosts large-scale training exercise, including in North, Yle News
Iceland: Europe’s Von der Leyen strengthens Arctic security ties with Iceland during visit, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Norway’s Arctic policy and a kaleidoscope election, Blog by Marc Lanteigne
Russia: Russia trains coastal attack scenario 30 km from border with Norway, The Associated Press
Sweden: Europe and the US stand united ahead of Alaska meeting: Swedish PM, Radio Sweden
United States: U.S. Coast Guard monitors Chinese ships in Arctic waters…again, Eye on the Arctic
