Finnish intelligence agency warns drone incidents could affect public support for Ukraine

The Finnish Security and Intelligence Service (Supo) sees risks that further incidents involving Ukrainian drones could affect public support for Ukraine and trust in the authorities – something that would benefit Moscow and that Russia may seek to exploit.

Source: Finnish public service media company Yle, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Yle is citing a written comment by Supo regarding the morning incident when an air-raid warning was issued in Finland for the first time.

Supo believes that further incidents involving "stray drones" and any resulting damage could influence public sentiment in Finland and "at least on an emotional level" weaken support for Ukraine, while also creating doubts about the effectiveness of the authorities' actions. This, in turn, "could play into Russia's hands".

"It is obvious that Russia will use this situation in its information influence operations… It is important to be prepared for this," the agency said.

Supo considers further incidents involving Ukrainian strike drones entering Finnish territory likely as long as Ukraine continues its defensive war.

Background:

• On the morning of 15 May, an air-raid warning was issued across the entire Uusimaa capital region after Finnish military authorities received warnings about the possible entry of strike drones into Finnish airspace. Helsinki Airport temporarily suspended operations, leading to the cancellation and rerouting of several flights.
• The military later stated that no airspace violations had been recorded. Government officials defended the decision to issue the air-raid warning, stressing that the risks had been real.
• Air-raid warnings were also declared in Latvian regions bordering Russia, though no drones ultimately entered Latvian territory.
• During the spring, there were six incidents in Finland involving Ukrainian drones flying towards Russian ports on the Baltic Sea and entering Finnish airspace – four at the end of March and two in early May.

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