Finland issued a drone threat alert following a warning from Ukraine
The drone threat to the Finnish capital region of Uusimaa, which arose in mid-May, was announced following a warning from Ukraine about a misdirected UAV.
This was reported by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, citing its own informed sources.
According to insiders, the Ukrainian side promptly notified its Finnish counterparts overnight that it had accidentally sent combat drones equipped with explosives toward Finland. It is noted that attack UAVs are usually programmed along complex routes taking into account the coordinates of targets and waypoints, where the malfunction occurred on the eve of May 15. The Finnish Armed Forces Command confirmed that the drones ultimately did not cross into Finnish airspace—they were likely shot down by a Russian air defense system while still approaching.
This incident significantly changes the perception of the events from two weeks ago, information about which was previously almost never disclosed, unlike the March incident when Ukrainian drones crashed in the Kymenlaakso region. At that time, due to the threat, the Finnish Ministry of the Interior declared an alert and ordered the 1.8 million residents of Uusimaa to take immediate shelter, while also completely halting air traffic in the capital region. The country’s top leadership, including President Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, and Defense Minister Antti Hykkänen, have so far declined to comment on the released data, although last week Stubb stated that the military sees no signs of deliberate intent by Russia to direct drones toward Finnish territory.
A Romanian fighter jet participating in a NATO air patrol mission shot down a stray attack drone over Estonian territory.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, commenting on the incident involving the downing of the drone over the country’s territory, stated that this is a consequence of Russia’s war and provocations. He also emphasized that Ukraine has every right to strike Russian military targets.
