Ukrainian drone crashes in southeastern Finland
A Ukrainian drone carrying an unexploded warhead crashed in Finland on Sunday, according to a preliminary assessment by Finnish police. It is the first known time the war between Ukraine and Russia has directly affected Finnish territory, at least based on the initial police findings. Always comforting when a regional war adds a new country to the list by accident.
Ukraine later apologised for the incident, saying the unmanned aerial vehicle had gone off course during the war with Russia, most likely because of electronic interference from Moscow.
No injuries or property damage were reported after the crash in southeastern Finland.
Finnish police said in a statement that:
"The UAV that came down north of Kouvola was found, in a preliminary assessment by the authorities, to have an unexploded warhead attached."
The aircraft was identified as a Ukrainian AN196 drone with a 6.7-metre, or 22-foot, wingspan. Police later destroyed it in a controlled detonation.
Debris from a second drone, also believed to be Ukrainian, was found in the municipality of Luumäki, east of Kouvola. Officers were still trying to determine whether that drone exploded when it hit the ground, police said.
Kyiv says the drones were never meant for Finland
Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesman said the country had not aimed any drones at Finland.
"We can confirm that under no circumstances were any Ukrainian drones directed towards Finland ... We have already apologised to the Finnish side for this incident,"
he said.
Finland’s President Alexander Stubb discussed the crash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call on Monday.
"Alex and I see the situation in the same way. We are sharing all necessary information," Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
Wider spillover near the border
The incident comes as Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes in recent weeks, including some facilities close to the Finnish border. Those strikes are part of Kyiv’s effort to weaken Russia’s war economy.
The crash in Finland also followed a series of stray Ukrainian drones entering the airspace of Estonia and Latvia via Russia last week. Authorities in both NATO countries said the drones were likely part of a broader Ukrainian attack on Russia.
Lithuania also said on Monday that another stray Ukrainian drone had crashed into a lake.
The drones that landed in Estonia and Latvia arrived around the same time Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack had set fire to oil facilities at the Baltic Sea ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, both major export hubs near Estonia and Finland.
