Finnish police say stray Ukrainian drone carried warhead

Finnish authorities are investigating two drones that crashed in southern Finland.

Kyiv apologized for the incident, with Ukraine's Zelenskyy saying he and Finland's Stubb are on the same page.

A Ukrainian drone that crashed in southern Finland was found to have carried an unexploded warhead, Finnish police said on Monday.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the incident.

The drone crashed on Sunday in an area near Kouvola , a southern Finnish town that lies some 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the country's border with Russia.

The Finland border is Russia's longest border with the European Union and the NATO military alliance, the latter of which Helsinki joined in April 2023.

Ukraine has increased its drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and port facilities in recent weeks, including in areas near the Finnish border, in an effort to limit Moscow's ability to fund its invasion .

What did police say about the drone?

"The UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) that came down north of Kouvola was found, in a preliminary assessment by the authorities, to have an unexploded warhead attached," Finnish police said in a statement .

Police said the device — which was identified as a Ukrainian AN196 drone — was destroyed in a controlled detonation.

Debris from a second drone was found near Luumaki, just east of Kouvola, according to the statement.

It said it had determined that a reported drone sighting in the village of Pyhtaa south of Kouvola was likely related to the incidents.

The statement said that Finnish authorities were investigating the case as "grossly negligent endangerment" and the border guard was looking into a "territorial violation."
Ukraine apologizes for drone crash
Ukrainian authorities on Monday said that they had apologized to Finland after the two drones crashed in the country's territory.

"Under no circumstances were any Ukrainian drones directed toward Finland.

The most likely cause is interference from Russian electronic warfare systems.

We have already apologized to the Finnish side for this incident," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said in comments to reporters.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he and Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb were on the same page on the incidents.

"Alex and I see the situation in the same way.

We are sharing all necessary information," the Ukrainian leader said in a post on X, referring to Stubb.