Finland's navy fires warning charges near suspected submarine
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 28 April 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Finland's navy fires warning charges near suspected submarine, 28 April 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5565ba512f.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
April 28, 2015
Finland says its navy fired small underwater depth charges on April 28 as a warning against a suspected submarine in waters near Helsinki.
The grenade-size charges were fired amid growing military tensions with neighboring Russia, fueled by Russian border incursions and air force flights into Finnish airspace, since the conflict in eastern Ukraine began a year ago.
Finnish Defense Minister Carl Haglund did not say whether Russia was involved in April 28 incident in the Gulf of Finland.
But Haglund said: "It is always serious if our territorial waters have been violated."
Reports of a submarine spotted near Stockholm last year led to Sweden's biggest mobilization since the Cold War.
Regional tensions were reflected earlier in April after a joint statement by the Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland – that directly cited the Russian "challenge" as grounds to increase defense cooperation.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
