On the morning of March 29, two unidentified drones crashed in southeastern Finland, prompting an investigation by the Finnish Defence Forces. Authorities in Helsinki suspect that these drones may be of Ukrainian origin.
The Defence Forces stated that they are examining the origins of the drones that entered Finnish airspace before crashing early Sunday. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo suggested that the drones might have deviated from their intended flight path.
“We take this matter very seriously. Security agencies responded immediately. An investigation is ongoing, and further details will be provided after verifying the information,” said Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the drones were flying at a low altitude, which led to the deployment of military aircraft, specifically F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, to track them. One drone ultimately crashed north of Kouvola, while the other went down east of the town.
The first drone was identified as an AN-196 “Lyutyi,” a Ukrainian long-range strike drone, while the type of the second drone could not be determined.
This incident marks the first known violation of Finnish airspace by drones since 2022. Finland has increased its border security following previous incidents where Ukrainian drones strayed off course during attacks on Russian ports, with one drone crashing into a chimney of a power station in Estonia and others landing in Latvia and Lithuania.
Orpo noted that Russia has been employing strong electronic countermeasures, which may explain why these drones have also entered Finnish airspace.
Finland is investigating the crash of two drones suspected to be of Ukrainian origin, marking the first airspace violation since 2022. The incident has raised concerns about border security and electronic interference from Russia.