Finnish and Swedish jets scrambled for the first joint intercept of Russian warplanes over the Gulf of Finland as Putin mocked Europe’s defense warnings.
On Sept. 24, Finnish F/A-18 Hornets and Swedish JAS 39 Gripens launched after Russian military aircraft were detected in international airspace over the Gulf of Finland, the waterway that separates Finland from Estonia. Fox News reported the Russian formation included a Tu-134 transport plane, MiG-31 interceptors, and Su-30 multirole fighters.
It was the first time the two Nordic air forces had scrambled together for an intercept of that kind. Finland joined NATO in April 2023 as the alliance’s 31st member, roughly doubling NATO’s land border with Russia. Sweden followed in March 2024 as the 32nd.
Swedish Air Force Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, the service’s commander, framed the flight as proof the new allies can already fight as one.
Wikman said:
"This is what close cooperation looks like in practice."
He added:
"Built over years on trust and strong personal relationships, we can now operate seamlessly together, as air forces, as nations and as Allies."
One day after the scramble, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European warnings about a threat from Moscow. Speaking Friday at the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, he mocked Estonia’s defense minister, Martin Herem, who had warned Russia could be capable of using military force against Estonia within a year.
Putin said:
"Many people in Europe say they expect an attack from Russia and therefore claim they must prepare for war with Russia."
He insisted Russia was not preparing any such campaign.
"I want to emphasize once again: we are not preparing for military action against Europe. We have no such plans, no basis for them, and, most importantly, no real motive to escalate the situation with Europe."
Then came the jab aimed at Herem’s warnings:
"As we jokingly say in Russia: 'The circus has left, but the clowns remain.' It is political clowning.... Clearly, these statements are complete nonsense and absurdity."
Estonia’s government is not treating the risk as a joke. Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Tallinn is ready to shut border crossing points on short notice if threat assessments change. Estonia has been a NATO member since 2004, after regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Gulf of Finland intercept did not arrive in a vacuum. On Sept. 18, armed Russian jets entered Estonian airspace and were intercepted by NATO aircraft. Earlier incidents in the wider region included Russian drones entering Polish airspace, a Russian Mi-8 helicopter crossing into Poland from Kaliningrad, and drones crashing in Romania and Moldova.
Pressure has also reached Lithuania. An Italian fighter flying the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace after it entered from Belarus near Pratkunai, Reuters reported. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said the threat most probably came from Russia. Lithuanian authorities were still examining the debris; a Ukrainian military source told Reuters it appeared to be from a Geran-2 long-range attack drone widely used by Russia and carrying an explosive. The episode triggered drone alerts in Vilnius and Kaunas.
Crosetto said:
"Last night, again, the Italian pilots have intervened and they have shot down a threat that most probably came from Russia."
He tied the flight to alliance duty:
"The presence of Italian aircraft here is the clear demonstration of the value of the Atlantic alliance for Italy and what it means to be an ally."
The New York Post reported the shoot-down as the first such incident in Lithuanian airspace, with the drone remaining aloft about 30 minutes and “likely” carrying explosives, according to Lithuanian air force commander Antanas Matutis. The incident followed remarks from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that Russian strikes close to alliance territory would drive more support for Ukraine. Rutte said Russia is growing increasingly reckless as it continues its war against Ukraine.
On the same day as the Finnish-Swedish scramble, European intelligence officials pointed to a sharper hybrid campaign from Moscow. Denmark’s Defense Intelligence Service assessed the risk of a limited Russian military attack against a NATO country in the coming months as “low but growing.” The service expects Russia to intensify hybrid pressure against NATO and the West. A full-scale Russian invasion of a NATO member remains highly unlikely, the assessment said, but can no longer be ruled out.
NATO has answered with a defensive posture. In June the alliance said it was enhancing protection of eastern members in the cyber and space domains and helping build resilience against hostile Russian actions, including cyberattacks, sabotage, and airspace violations. Alliance messaging holds that military activities along the eastern flank are entirely defensive, that NATO is “ready, willing and able to defend every Ally,” and that an attack on any member would meet a “resounding response.”
Rutte, speaking during a recent visit to Iowa, underscored that Putin understands the stakes. He told the Associated Press that Putin “knows that the United States and Europe are totally intertwined.”
Rutte said:
"We have to make sure that we are prepared, we are strong, and he knows it."
And:
"And if he does anything silly, he knows our reaction will be tough."
Finland and Sweden did not join the alliance as spectators. Their first joint scramble over the Gulf of Finland puts steel behind the membership papers signed in 2023 and 2024. The Baltic Sea region has been on heightened alert since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, after pipelines, sabotage, and hybrid threats raised the cost of complacency.
Putin’s forum speech tried to cast European preparation as absurd theater. The flight logs say otherwise. Russian transports and fighters still draw Nordic interceptors. Armed jets still brush Estonian airspace. Drones still cross from Belarus into Lithuania and force NATO pilots to shoot them down. Border governments still keep the option to slam crossings shut if the threat picture darkens.
Moscow can call the warnings clowning. NATO’s newest northern members are answering with airborne readiness instead of applause lines.
Strength is what keeps a denier honest, and scrambled jets over the Gulf of Finland are clearer than any speech from St. Petersburg.
