On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen reported a suspected violation of the country’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland by a Russian military aircraft.
Finnish Boeing F/A-18 Hornet multirole combat aircraft / Photo: Cpl. Adam Henke, USMC
A Russian aircraft is suspected of violating Finnish airspace over the western Gulf of Finland on the afternoon of August 20.
“Every suspected violation of Finnish territory is taken seriously. An investigation is under way,” Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen said.
The Finnish Border Guard is investigating the incident and will provide further information as the investigation progresses.
Finish Ministry Of Defence
In a separate press release published today, August 21, the Finnish Border Guard (Rajavartiolaitos, RVL) revealed that the aircraft involved was an Il-20M imagery and electronic intelligence aircraft (NATO reporting name: Coot-A).
“A Russian Il-20 reconnaissance aircraft is suspected of violating Finnish airspace over the western Gulf of Finland, south of Utö, on the afternoon of August 20.
The suspected airspace violation lasted approximately three minutes, and at its deepest point the aircraft penetrated around 4.7 nautical miles into Finnish territory.
The Finnish Border Guard has launched a preliminary investigation into the suspected violation and will provide information on the findings once the investigation has been completed.”
Earlier, in May and June this year, Russian aircraft violated Finnish airspace on two occasions. Last year, Russia violated Finland’s airspace three times. The two countries share a 1,340 km border, primarily on land, but the maritime section in the south is regularly violated by Russian military aircraft, with such activity intensifying particularly after Finland joined NATO on April 4, 2023.
An exception was the incident on March 29 this year, when during an air attack on Leningrad Oblast, two Ukrainian drones crashed in Finland, prompting Kyiv to apologize to the authorities in Helsinki. In this context, the Director of the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency PVTIEDL (Puolustusvoimien tiedustelulaitos), Lt. Gen. Pekka Turunen, spoke yesterday ahead of the publication of a report on the security situation.
The risk of drones entering Finnish airspace or Finnish territory is constantly increasing as Ukraine carries out more attacks in this area near the Gulf of Finland, Gen. Turunen said, adding that the issue is one of the key topics addressed in the report.
As for the Il-20M, aircraft of this type have been intercepted repeatedly over the Baltic Sea in recent weeks, including by Poland.
The Il-20M is a specialized version of the Il-18 aircraft, hence its alternative designation Il-18D-36 Bizon, designed for imagery intelligence, communications intelligence (COMINT), and electronic intelligence (ELINT), including the interception of electromagnetic emissions. It is equipped with a broad suite of A-87P LOROP, Romb 4, and Vishnya electro-optical sensors, as well as the Igla-1 side-looking airborne radar (SLAR) with a phased-array antenna and satellite communications systems for real-time data transmission. The Il-20M prototype made its first flight in March 1968. A total of 20 aircraft were built, of which 14 remain in service with the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS).
Venäläistä ilma-alusta epäillään alueloukkauksesta Läntisellä Suomenlahdella. Tutkinta on aloitettu välittömästi. https://t.co/nMePstZ87p
— Antti Häkkänen (@anttihakkanen) August 20, 2026
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