Finnish defence minister condemns Ukrainian drones entering Finnish airspace

Finnish Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen has condemned an incident involving two stray Ukrainian drones that entered Finnish territory.

Source: Finnish public broadcaster Yle, as reported by European Pravda

Details: As events unfolded over the Gulf of Finland on the morning of 3 May, Ukraine was carrying out a drone attack on the Russian oil port of Primorsk, located about 50 km from the Finnish border.

"We will not allow this. They must plan their operations so that the risk of deviations due to Russian interference is minimised so that something like this cannot happen," Häkkänen said.

The minister noted that he was "immediately" informed about the situation on Sunday morning. He said Finnish Air Force Hornet fighter jets and army helicopters were deployed to track the drones.

In response to the incident, Finland introduced a temporary no-fly zone in the area.

The Finnish Armed Forces stated that a decision was made not to intercept or shoot down the drones, as they were too close to the Russian border.

According to Häkkänen, the use of Finnish airspace in such a manner is unacceptable.

"Using our airspace for such operations is completely prohibited. It is unequivocally prohibited. We have very strongly communicated to the Ukrainian state that even these drones that have strayed due to negligence are a reprehensible thing," Häkkänen said.

Background:

• In late March and early April, four drones identified as Ukrainian, intended to strike Russian territory, were found in various locations in south-eastern Finland.
• On 3 May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a visit to Yerevan, proposed to the Finnish prime minister signing an agreement on drones.

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