Finland's Defense Ministry announced on Sunday a violation of its territorial space by unmanned aerial vehicles in the southeast of the country, according to Reuters and the Finnish publication Yle.
The news comes after neighboring Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said earlier this week that several Ukrainian drones had crashed on their territory after going astray during attacks on Russian oil export facilities on the Baltic Sea coast.
“The drones deviated into Finnish territory. We treat the matter very seriously. The security authorities reacted immediately. The investigation will continue and more detailed information will be provided once the facts are confirmed,” wrote Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen.
On Sunday morning, several small drones, moving slowly at low altitude, were detected over a maritime area and in southeastern Finland, the ministry said in a statement.
One drone fell to the ground north of the town of Kouvola and another to the east of Kouvola, he added. Police cordoned off the area of the accident north of the town of Kouvola, on the Savistontie road.
Kouvola is about 130 km northeast of Helsinki and about 70 km west of the Russian border.
The Finnish Air Force conducted an identification mission with an F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet.
