Weapon-carrying drones sent to the Republic of Finland weren’t actually Russian as first reported, according to a recent investigation.
Contrary to early suspicions, a UAV scare in the Uusimaa region seems to have been caused by a mistake made by Ukraine.
Two weeks ago, Finland received an overnight warning from Kyiv that it had accidentally sent the drones—carrying explosivest—towards the Finnish region that is home to the Nordic nation’s capital city. Around 1.8 million residents were instructed to remain indoors and civilian flights grounded.
The publication Helsingin Sanomat has approached the authorities in both Finland and Ukraine for comment without, to date, success.
Finnish Defence Forces claim that the UAVs in question never entered their airspace. Yet the perception that Russia was responsible for the near (or actual) incursion was allowed to stand, when Ukrainian errors in programming the devices is a more likely explanation.
In recent years Kyiv has sought to expand its aerial and ‘ground’ drones expertise to position Ukraine as a weapons manufacturing hub. This recent mistake—coming amid widespread Nordic and Baltic unease about UAV incursions—could help to undermine this ambition.
