Finland apparently chased a suspected Russian submarine away from its coast by firing depth charges in its direction on Tuesday.
The mysterious underwater vessel, which Finnish officials said was believed to be a Russian sub, appeared to have left the area after the depth charges were fired,
reported the Washington Times.
Officials from some Eastern European nations have complained about an increase in unannounced Russians military incursions – by sea and air – since Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.
"We strongly suspect that there has been underwater activity that does not belong there," Finland defense minister Carl Haglund told the Finnish news agency STT. The nation's navy said it noticed a vessel off Helsinki on Monday and Tuesday before firing.
"Of course, it is always serious if our territorial waters have been violated," said Haglund.
Finland Commodore Olavi Jantunen told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper that military officials had wanted to simply let the suspected Russian submarine know they knew it was out there and where,
reported The Telegraph.
"The bombs are not intended to damage the target, the purpose is to let the target know that it has been noticed," said Jantunen.
Last October, armed forces in Sweden searched for a suspected submarine off its coast near its capital of Stockholm.
Sky News reported that recently Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, issued a joint statement that it would cooperate on defense matters in the face of Russia's involvement in Ukraine.
Russian responded to the announcement by saying that Finland and Sweden had created a "special concern" for them because of its strengthening ties with NATO. Britain's defense secretary, Michael Fallon, said in February that Russia's efforts in Ukraine could be copied to affect other nearby countries.
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