Finland’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that unmanned aerial vehicles likely violated the country’s airspace in the south. The ministry reported that “a few low-flying slow objects were observed in Finnish airspace in the sea area and in southeastern Finland on Sunday morning,” and the air force sent an F/A-18 Hornet to identify the objects.
Authorities said one drone fell to the ground north of Kouvola and another crashed east of Kouvola. Police have cordoned off the crash sites for investigation. Images from Kouvola show police blocking roads near the areas where the drones came down.
“Drones have strayed into Finland’s territory. We take this very seriously,” Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen said, adding that the probe is ongoing and further details will be released after verification.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told public broadcaster Yle that the aircraft were likely stray Ukrainian drones, noting Ukraine has recently struck Russian border areas near Finland. Orpo suggested that Russian jamming of drone signals may have caused some to veer off course. Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.
The incident follows similar reports in the Baltics. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania recently reported that several Ukrainian drones crashed on their territory after becoming strayed during strikes on Russian oil export facilities along the Baltic coast.
In recent weeks Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes as part of efforts to weaken Russia’s war economy, while US-brokered peace talks have stalled. A video report examines how drones are changing the war in Ukraine.
Edited by: Rana Taha