Stray Ukraine drone that fell in Finland ‘had warhead’
Finnish police said a preliminary assessment showed that a Ukrainian drone that crashed in Finland was carrying an unexploded warhead.
Ukraine has apologized for the incident and said the drone fired in its war with Russia likely went astray due to Russian electronic interference.
No injuries or damage were reported in the accident in southeastern Finland, where the Russia-Ukraine war first spread to Finnish territory.
I spoke with the President of Finland @AlexStubb. It is important that all of us in Europe coordinate firmly. That’s exactly what Alex and I did. I informed him about my meetings and meetings in the Middle East and the Gulf region in recent days.…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 30, 2026
Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes in recent weeks, some near Russia’s border with Finland, in a bid to weaken the Russian war economy.
“These are individual Ukrainian drones that entered our territory,” Air Force Commander Major General Timo Herranen said on Monday. he said.
Finnish police said in a statement: “The UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which crashed north of Kouvola, was determined to have an unexploded warhead in the preliminary assessment made by the authorities.” he said.
The drone, which was identified as a Ukrainian AN-196 UAV with a wingspan of 6.7 meters, was destroyed with a controlled explosion.
Police added that the wreckage of a second UAV, also thought to be Ukrainian, was found in the Luumaki municipality, east of the town of Kouvola, and that police were investigating whether it exploded when it crashed.
A spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry said: “We can confirm that no Ukrainian drones were directed towards Finland in any way… We have already apologized from Finland for this incident.” he said.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed the incident in a phone call on Monday.
“Alex and I look at the situation from the same perspective. We share all the necessary information,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media.
Zelenskiy said on Monday that some of Ukraine’s allies were sending “signals” to Ukraine about the possibility of reducing Russia’s long-range attacks on its oil sector amid a rise in global energy prices.
Speaking to reporters in a WhatsApp chat, he added that Ukraine was ready to reciprocate if Russia stops attacking the Ukrainian energy system, and that Ukraine is open to an Easter ceasefire.
Speaking to reporters at a WhatsApp briefing, Zelenskiy said: “Recently, after such a serious global energy crisis, we have received signals from some of our partners on how we can reduce our reactions in the oil sector and the energy sector of the Russian Federation.” he said.
Stubb did not demand that Ukraine reduce its attacks on Russian assets around Finland in his meeting with Zelenskiy, Stubb’s office told Reuters.
“This was not discussed among the presidents,” the emailed statement said.
