GLOBAL NEWS FLASHES EXCERPT (w/c: 26MAY21)
SOURCED BY: The Associated Press
Debris litters the water where American Airlines Flight 270 impacted the water after its destruction by what is believed to have been
an anti-air missile fired from nearby Oviaukko Island off the coast of Finland this morning.
113 dead after American Airlines flight is shot down near FinlandAn American Airlines jet carrying Americans evacuated from the U.S. embassy in Helsinki has been shot down off the coast of Finland. A search for those onboard was initiated by the Finnish Border Guard but no survivors were found. The crew and passengers, 113 in total, are presumed dead.
American Airlines Flight 270 is reported to have been carrying at least 80 Americans from the embassy, part of an effort to evacuate non-essential personnel and the families of embassy employees.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, shortly after leaving Helsinki, Flight 270 pilot Captain Gene Thomas made an emergency call to air traffic controllers indicating he saw what appeared to be an incoming missile approaching from his aircraft’s starboard side. It was the final communication heard from the flight.
Capt Gene Thomas
The Finnish Ministry of Defence indicated a civilian fishing boat was the first to reach the wreckage of Flight 270 which fell in the Gulf of Bothnia. 20 minutes later two vessels from the Finnish Border Guard arrived at the scene. According to the Finnish M.O.D., a search for survivors was conducted for about an hour but given the state of the debris field the operation was then designated a recovery rather than a rescue.
American Airlines Flight 270 was destroyed in the Gulf of Bothnia just northwest of Oviaukko Island off the coast of Finland.
Fight 270 was traveling from Helsinki to Chicago and carrying at least 80 Americans being evacuated from the U.S. embassy in Finland. Sources within the M.O.D. who spoke on the condition of anonymity say the crew of the fishing boat witnessed what looked to be a missile streaking from Oviaukko Island before impacting a jetliner. The witnesses claimed to see a cloud of debris fall into the water and found no indication of survivors when their vessel reached where the debris had fallen.
The incident comes on the heels of the destruction of two drones, one belonging to the U.S. and one belonging to NATO, operating near western Finland. Russian authorities have since accepted blame for the incidents indicating their security forces in Finland have been forced to use anti-air weapons to combat increasingly sophisticated drone attacks on their personnel and equipment. The Russians claim the attacks have been conducted by well-organized-and-equipped radical anti-Russian terrorists in Finland. According to Finnish and Russian authorities, two such attacks occurred over the last week.
The Finnish government has continued to call for the Russian presence in their country to end and the Finnish-Russian Economic Revitalization Treaty of 2021 to be nullified. Economic conditions in Finland have reached a critical low in recent weeks as the government has been torn between efforts to provide relief and efforts to expel the Russians.
An S-400 Triumph Air Defence Missile battery is shown operating in Russia. The Kremlin has indicated a similar battery was
responsible for the destruction of American Airlines Flight 270, which they have claimed was an accident.
Governments release statements on destruction of Flight 270Anti-air ordered out of FinlandRussian President Svetla Basuda has confirmed that Russian security forces were responsible for the destruction of American Airlines Flight 270 that killed 113 earlier today. In the aftermath, she has issued a formal apology and ordered all anti-air weapons to be removed.
“I can assure the international community that no orders were given to Russian forces to restrict airspace over Finland,” Basuda said in a statement today. “What happened to American Airlines Flight 270 was a tragic accident. Our security forces in the region have been forced to protect themselves against drone attacks from anti-Russian terrorists which has now resulted in a trio of unfortunate accidents.”
According to the Russian government, security contractors in the area fired a missile from an S-400 Triumph Air Defence Missile battery at what they believed to be a large commercial drone operated by a Finnish terror group. The missile, they say, lost its tracking of the drone and targeted the airliner instead.
Just after the Kremlin’s statement was released, U.S. President James Richardsen held a press conference outside the White House where he denounced the actions of Russian forces within Finland.
“These accidents committed by Russian security are criminal in nature,” President Richardsen said. “Today’s loss of life is evidence the Russian government lacks the ability to control their assets within Finland. The Finnish-Russian Economic Revitalization Treaty of 2021 (FRERT) should be immediately nullified and the Russian presence in Finland should end. Until that decision is made, we are prepared to retaliate to acts of aggression toward U.S. citizens.”
Finnish President Laina Virtanen also released a statement condemning the accident and called on the United Nations to nullify the FRERT saying the presence of anti-aircraft and other heavy weaponry being used by Russian security forces is evidence of bad-faith actions by the Russian government. Despite the Finnish economy continuing to spiral, Virtanen announced her country is no longer accepting FRERT payments from Russia.
Experts assert that until such time as the FRERT is nullified, Finland’s call for the removal of the Russian presence conflicts with the legal authorities awarded as part of the treaty.
Shortly after the statements by the U.S. and Finnish governments, Basuda released an additional statement calling for unity between Russia and Finland. She also ordered anti-air weapons to be removed from the country except those which will remain in and around Helsinki and Turku to assist in Finnish Defense Forces-enforced no-fly zones. However, experts caution the FRERT allows Russian contractors, including security firms, to operate within Finland independent of the Russian government, meaning Basuda may lack the necessary legal authority to order contractors to cease use of specific armaments.
These published news excerpts are the fictional work of the S-2 Intelligence Team of the 506th IRRU.
