Troops observed drones skirting Finland’s eastern frontier. Officials avoided interception to prevent breaching Russian airspace, and investigators continue to probe the incident.
Finland did not attempt to shoot down the drones that were detected in its airspace on Sunday because they were too close to the Russian border.
The drones entered from the south and moved toward the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. The Defence Forces said they did not cross into the country, but for a time flew along the border and then went east, leaving the airspace.
The Finnish military explained that they did not shoot down the drones because they were too close to the Russian border.
In peacetime, intercepting drones near the border or in another country’s airspace is not possible
– Press Service
Earlier, the military noted that interceptions occur only after precise identification of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and measures are taken if there is a risk of munitions entering Russian territory.
The border service leads the investigation into the airspace violation, and the Defence Forces have not commented on whether the drones were identified.
Reaction and Context of the Events
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, during a bilateral visit to the summit in Armenia, discussed this issue with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
I stressed that Finland supports Ukraine and understands its desire to defend itself. However, it is unacceptable for Finland’s airspace to be violated and for drones to enter our airspace
– Petteri Orpo
According to Orpo, the government is well informed about the night’s events and is working on it. He added that Finland has a high level of readiness to monitor and defend its airspace from drone attacks, and in the future this readiness will be substantially strengthened.
Orpo also believes that, thanks to talks between the leadership of the two countries, Ukrainians will be more cautious so that drones do not again enter Finnish territory.
On March 29, two drones crashed in the southeast of Finland. The origin of one drone is not established, but authorities confirmed that the second was Ukrainian. Later, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ukrainian drones were by no means aimed at Finland; Ukraine provided the Finnish side with all necessary information to establish the circumstances of the UAVs’ crash and apologized for the incident.
According to Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga, Ukraine has intelligence indicating that Russia deliberately diverts drones toward Baltic countries and Finland to use such incidents for information operations.
In the context of the events, Finnish authorities continue to strengthen surveillance and control over the airspace to prevent similar incidents in the future. This situation underscores the need for closer cooperation with partners and strengthening the readiness of the defense forces to meet such challenges.