Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen raised the issue Monday with Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiha on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting in Brussels. "We support Ukraine's defense, which is absolutely crucial for the security of all Europe, but drones straying off course and falling on Finnish territory is a serious problem", she said.
Four drone wrecks were recovered in late March and early April in sparsely populated areas of southeastern Finland, near the Gulf of Finland, during intense Ukrainian strikes on Russian port and oil infrastructure in the region. The incidents — the first of their kind in Finland since the war began — prompted heightened readiness among Finnish air force and coast guard units, which now continuously monitor the stretch of coastline between Helsinki and the Russian border.
Sybiha confirmed that Ukrainian specialists would cooperate on preventing future incidents and on strengthening aerial surveillance over Finland and the Baltic states, where Ukrainian drones have also come down. He attributed the incidents to Russian electronic warfare tactics deliberately designed to disrupt drone navigation and alter flight paths.
Valtonen said cooperation with Ukraine was important not only for countering drone threats but also for advancing drone technology development.
According to sources cited by Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat, Ukraine and Finland are also preparing an agreement on joint drone production on Finnish soil, with some of the output destined for the front and the remainder kept in Finnish military stockpiles.
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Source: PAP