Finland has found itself in a pickle over Ukrainian drones flying through Finnish airspace on their way to targets in Russia in the vicinity of St. Petersburg. On the one hand, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo is saying publicly that he doesn’t want Ukrainian drones in Finnish airspace, but on the other hand, the Finnish military is saying they might not shoot down Ukrainian drones if there’s a good chance they’ll fly on to Russia.
Ukraine on May 3 carried out a drone strike on the oil port of Koivisto, or Primorsk. Four drones believed to be Ukrainian have recently ended up on Finnish territory.
Orpo, after meeting with Acting President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, May 4, told Yle that he had pointed out that Finland supports Ukraine and understands its defense. “But it is still unacceptable that Finnish airspace is being violated and drones stray into our airspace,” he said. Orpo said that following the bilateral talks, Ukraine will take further steps to prevent drones from straying into Finnish territory.
