The director general of the Border Guard Service of Southeast Finland tells that the surveillance balloons mentioned in the Russian news media have not been spotted near the eastern border.
Roni Kuronen,
Leonard Wilhelmus
Russia is sending airships near the eastern border to monitor the border, says the Rossiya 1 television channel, which is close to the Russian state.
According to the government’s newspaper, the purpose of the airships is to monitor foreigners who are trying to reach Finland from Russia.
Based on the video published by the newspaper, the airships are attached to the ground with strings.
Director General of the Southeastern Finland Border Guard Service Kimmo Gromoff tells that the Finnish border guards have so far not detected the surveillance balloons mentioned in the Russian news media near the eastern border.
The Russian authorities have also not provided the Finnish border guard with information about activities near the border.
– Russia has no obligation to inform Finland about things happening within the country’s own borders. Finland does not have this obligation either.
According to Gromoff, the border guard currently has a lot of personnel monitoring the border area for a completely different reason. He cannot say what the real purpose of the airships allegedly sent to the border is, or what Russia could try to achieve with them.
The issue has also been reported by, among others, the Russian government’s newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta as well as several other Russian media. In Finland, the news was reported earlier Evening News.