Stray Ukrainian drone that fell in Finland had a warhead, police say
By Anne Kauranen
HELSINKI, March 30 (Reuters) – A Ukrainian drone that crashed in Finland on Sunday was carrying an unexploded warhead, according to a preliminary assessment, Finnish police said on Monday.
Ukraine has apologized for the incident and said the drone fired in its war with Russia likely went astray due to Moscow’s electronic interference.
No injuries or damage were reported in the accident in southeastern Finland, where the Russia-Ukraine war first spread to Finnish territory.
POLICE ARE INVESTIGATING THE SECOND UAV
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 Moscow’s war economy.
Finnish police said in a statement: “The UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which crashed north of Kouvola, was determined to have an unexploded warhead, according to a preliminary assessment by the authorities.” he said.
It was identified as a Ukrainian AN-196 drone with a wingspan of 6.7 meters (22 feet) and was destroyed in a controlled explosion.
Police added that the wreckage of a second UAV, also thought to belong to Ukraine, was found in the municipality of Luumaki, east of the town of Kouvola, and that police officers 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 see the situation the same way. We share all the necessary information,” Zelenskiy said on social media.
Zelenskiy said on Monday that some of Ukraine’s allies were sending “signals” to Kiev about the possibility of reducing Russia’s long-range attacks on its oil sector amid a rise in global energy prices.
According to a statement from Stubb’s office to Reuters, Stubb did not demand that Ukraine reduce its attacks on Russian assets around Finland during his meeting with Zelenskiy. “This was not discussed between the presidents,” he said in an emailed statement.
(Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, Pavel Polityuk and Yuliia Dysa in Kiev; Editing by Stine Jacobsen and Andrew Heavens)
