Finland Reports Territorial Violation by Drones, At Least One Linked to Ukraine

Yle

Two drones that entered Finnish territory crashed in southeastern Finland on Sunday.

Finland reported on Sunday a suspected violation of its territory by unmanned aerial vehicles in the country’s southeast, with Prime Minister Petteri Orpo suggesting the incident was likely linked to Ukrainian drone attacks against Russia.

Neighbouring countries — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — said last week that several Ukrainian drones had crashed on their territory after veering off course during strikes on Russian oil export facilities along the Baltic Sea coast.

Ukraine has intensified drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes in recent weeks in an effort to weaken Russia’s war economy, as US-brokered peace talks have stalled.

On Sunday morning, Finland’s defence ministry said several small, slow-moving objects flying at low altitude were detected over a maritime area and in the southeastern part of the country.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said the drones appeared to be linked to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian targets in Finland’s vicinity.

"Russia ⁠has extremely strong electronic jamming capabilities, which could explain why these drones are drifting into Finnish airspace, something that is a very serious issue," Orpo told Finland's public broadcaster Yle.

Finland sent its F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets to recognise flying objects that approached its territorial waters, one of ⁠which was identified as a Ukrainian AN196 drone, the Finnish Air Force said.

"The pilot did not open fire in order to avoid collateral damage," it said in a statement, adding the drone ⁠fell to the ground north of the town of Kouvola in eastern Finland. Another drone hit the ground in the same region, it said.

Ukraine has hit all three major ⁠oil ports in western Russia this month: Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea in Finland's vicinity.

Iran said on Sunday that it was ready to respond to a ground attack.

Source: Reuters



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