Two drones crash in Finland after Ukraine strikes Russia: Details revealed
One of the drones was identified as An-196 Liutyi (illustrative photo: defence-ua.com)
Two drones of unknown origin crashed in southeastern Finland on the morning of March 29. Helsinki believes they were Ukrainian drones that accidentally entered Finnish airspace due to Russian electronic warfare interference.
According to the media, the Finnish Defense Forces are investigating the origin of several drones that entered its airspace before crashing on Sunday morning.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo suggested that the drones may belong to Ukraine and that they went off course. Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen called the incident very serious.
Based on officials' statements, the matter was taken very seriously, security authorities responded immediately, the investigation is now underway, and further details will be provided after verification.
The Finnish Ministry of Defense says the drones were flying very low. Military aircraft, including an F/A-18 Hornet fighter, were scrambled to track them. One drone ultimately crashed north of the city of Kouvola, and the other east of a populated area.
The Finnish Air Force identified the first drone as an An-196 Liutyi, a long-range Ukrainian strike drone, while the type of the second drone could not be determined.
This marks the first instance of drones violating Finnish airspace since 2022. Finland has stepped up defenses following incidents in which several Ukrainian drones deviated from their course during strikes on the Russian ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga. One drone struck a power plant chimney in Estonia, while others crashed in Latvia and Lithuania.
Minister Orpo explains that Russia is deploying strong electronic interference, which may also cause these drones to enter Finnish airspace.
Attacks on Russia's Leningrad region
On the night of March 29, drones struck Russia's Leningrad region for the third time in recent times, causing a fire at the Ust-Luga port. The strikes were carried out by long-range drones from the Alpha Center for Special Operations of Ukraine's Security Service.
Previously, on March 25, a fire broke out at the Ust-Luga port after a drone strike. On March 27, unknown drones attacked the oil-loading ports at Ust-Luga and Primorsk for the second time, resulting in massive fires at both facilities.
Western media reported on March 27 that nearly half of Russia's oil exports were shut down after Ukraine carried out successful strikes on the Ust-Luga and Primorsk ports.
Later, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed that they caused the largest disruptions in Russian oil product supplies in modern history. Successful strikes on ports and refineries continue to disrupt Russia's logistics chains.
