The war reached the borders of Finland. Prime Minister Orpo warns: “This is happening in our neighborhood”

Intense Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian targets in the Gulf of Finland are proof that the war is really taking place in our immediate neighborhood and is spreading all the time, said the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo.

The head of the Finnish government commented on Wednesday, the largest Ukrainian drone strikes since the beginning of the war against Russian targets in the Gulf of Finland, including Vyborg, approximately 25 km from the border with Finland, and aimed in particular at Russian port infrastructure. In the St. Petersburg area, Ukraine carried out attacks on the sea terminals in Primorsk and Ust-Luga, which are key to the export of Russian oil.

According to the Prime Minister, Helsinki's position is that Ukraine should receive military support to such an extent that Russia recognizes that it must cease its military operations.

The head of the Ministry of Defense, Antti Hakkanen, assured that Finland is not currently facing any military threat and the situation in the region is being monitored. Since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine, no foreign drones have been registered in Finland's airspace, unlike in other Baltic countries, for example.

The daily “Helsingin Sanomat” published photos of clouds of smoke rising over the damaged infrastructure of Russian ports, visible from the Finnish coast near Hamin (approx. 150 km east of Helsinki). – This is a symbol of the rather delicate relationship between war and peace – said the editorial comment published in Thursday's edition.

The newspaper also reported that as a result of the Ukrainian drone attack in Vyborg, a historic Art Nouveau house from the early 20th century designed by the Finnish architect Allan Schulman was damaged. A fire broke out in the building and the evacuated residents received temporary accommodation. The actual probable target of the attack – emphasized “HS” – was to be the facility located on the opposite side of this building, which is the headquarters of the Russian Security Service (FSB). Vyborg, located at the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland, belonged to Finland before World War II. The drones also damaged a patrol ship, also an icebreaker, which was moored in the local port.

From Helsinki Przemysław Molik (PAP)

pmo/san/