Russian helicopter crosses into Ukraine as security tensions rise

A Russian military
Mi-8 helicopter crossed into Ukrainian airspace over Sumy Oblast in northern
Ukraine on March 16. Online media pravda.ua reported on the same day that the
helicopter flew about 50 meters into Ukraine at a height of 100 meters above
ground, then turned around and flew back into Russia. The Russian government
has not responded to a formal, written request from the Ukrainian government as
to the reason for the incursion.

The event occurred
on a tense day. The Ukrainian government reported that Russian hackers had
attempted a cyber attack of Ukrainian government computers, rferl.org reported. Also, the U.S. intelligence
community released a joint report on interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential
campaign. The report states that the Russian government focused on anti-Biden
activities and disinformation through Ukrainian proxies such as Andrii Derkach
and Konstantin Kilimnik as well as attacks on Burisma’s IT systems.

James Hydzik:
Violations of Ukrainian airspace are relatively rare, so the event is raising
attention. However, given the other security issues raised throughout the day,
the incursion could be an attempt to remove focus from the reports. However,
distraction or not, it is an event that needs to be kept on the table – raising
the cost of dealing with the aftermath of a small incursion now could prevent a
larger one later.