Kyiv has apologized to Finland after two drones crashed on Sunday in the southeast of the country, near the border with Russia, the spokesman for Ukrainian diplomacy, Gheorghi Tihii, said on Monday, quoted by AFP.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had a telephone conversation with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb on Monday, he in turn indicated the Ukrainian presidency, without providing additional details, according to Agerpres.
“We have already apologized to the Finnish side regarding this incident,” said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman.
“No Ukrainian drone was directed at Finland,” he assured, without explicitly confirming whether the drones that fell a day ago in Finland were Ukrainian.
“The most likely cause is a diversion caused by Russian electronic warfare systems,” the Ukrainian diplomat added. “Ukraine has already sent all the necessary information to clarify all the circumstances,” he added.
Finland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest allies since the start of the Russian invasion more than four years ago.
Moscow launches hundreds of drones against Ukraine every night, and Kiev is increasingly retaliating by targeting energy and military sites on Russian soil.
In recent days, Ukraine has reported that it has struck oil installations on the Russian coast of the Gulf of Finland several times.
On Sunday, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated that it was probably Ukrainian drones involved in attacks on Russian infrastructure in areas near the border with Finland.
Russian jamming devices could have diverted those devices from their trajectory, he said.
And on Monday, Finnish police said a Ukrainian drone that crashed near the town of Kouvola on Sunday was carrying an unexploded payload, according to a preliminary assessment. The aircraft was later detonated under the control of Finnish authorities, police said.
“In a preliminary assessment by the authorities, it was discovered that the UAV that crashed north of Kouvola had an unexploded payload attached,” Finnish police said in a press release.
