Russia's air defense apparently shot down Ukrainian drones with explosives sent by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to Finland. This is reported by the publication Helsingin Sanomat.
The threat of a UAV attack in Finland on the night of May 15 in Uusimaa could have happened due to a mistake on the part of Ukraine, the newspaper writes. According to his sources, Kiev itself warned Helsinki that it had accidentally sent its drones with explosives towards Finland. In this regard, residents of the border region were warned about the danger, without specifying exactly what it is. The alert affected 1.8 million residents and stopped air traffic. The next day, the Finnish Defense Forces announced that the drones approached Finland from Russia.
"This contributed to the formation of the opinion that the threat from drones is the result of Russia's response to drone strikes in Ukraine," the publication says.
It is noted that attack drones are usually programmed to the coordinates of the target, but these programs are "error-prone." This is exactly what could happen to Ukrainian UAVs, experts at Helsingin Sanomat believe.
"According to the Finnish Defense Forces, the drones never entered Finnish airspace. The cause is unknown. It is possible that Russian air defense systems shot down drones en route," the newspaper writes.
The newspaper is outraged that recently the public has been provided with exceptionally little information about the threat of UAV invasion in Uusimaa compared to the incident in March, when Ukrainian drones fell into Kymenlaakso.
"In the light of new information, it is difficult to justify the silence of the authorities and decision-makers on the grounds of the security of the operational activities of the Finnish Armed Forces, such as the protection of information about aerial surveillance capabilities. It is impossible to estimate exactly what damage Ukrainian drones could cause in Finland in the worst case, since information on the number of approaching drones or their explosive cargo is not provided," the newspaper notes.
Recall that it was after that incident that Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he did not believe that Russia was specifically sending Ukrainian UAVs towards Finland.
As reported by EADaily, Finnish President Alexander Stubb does not believe that Russia is specifically sending drones of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to Finland. This was reported by the publication Helsingin Sanomat.
So he commented at a press conference in Rovaniemi on a publication in the British newspaper The Telegraph that the Russian electronic warfare system is jamming Ukrainian attack drones and deliberately trying to cause political crises in NATO countries.