On Friday, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (NCP) said Finland was closely monitoring the situation after Russia removed navigational buoys from the Narva River in Estonian waters.
Writing on messaging platform X, Valtonen pledged Finland's solidarity with Estonia and said the action in the border river "is yet another unfriendly act that is aimed at creating confusion."
The Estonian border guard reported Russia removing the buoys designed to prevent vessels on the Narva from accidentally entering Russian waters.
The Narva incident follows reports earlier this week that Russia aims to unilaterally redraw sea borders in the Baltic Sea — a move that would impact Finnish and Lithuanian maritime areas.
PM Petteri Orpo is in Riga on Friday, where his Latvian counterpart, Evika Siliņa, said it's clear that Russia is seeking new ways to exert hybrid influence in Europe, referring to the maritime border reports.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Friday meanwhile said that supporting Ukraine was a key part of Finnish defence.
"It all starts with the understanding that Ukraine is, in a way, defending both Finland and western democracies. So supporting Ukraine is part of our own defence," Stubb told Finnish news agency STT.
17.04: Added photo.