Finland is quite sparsely populated. A drone crashed in an uninhabited area. (symbol image)Image: www.imago-images.de
A drone with a live warhead crashed in southern Finland. The origin is still unclear, but there is suspicion.
April 12, 2026, 11:09April 12, 2026, 11:09
Finnish police found a crashed drone with an unexploded warhead in the forest near Iitti on Saturday. Nobody was injured. The army is now supposed to defuse the warhead.
The authorities did not provide any information about the origin of the flying object or the exact date of the crash. However, police said the device was similar to drones discovered in southeastern Finland at the end of March.
Threat on NATO’s external border
At the end of March, three drones had already crashed in Finland – two of which were identified as Ukrainian. Kiev apologized and said the drones were probably diverted from their flight paths by Russian jammers. Finland borders Russia in the east for around 1,340 kilometers.
Since the beginning of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian drones that were apparently off course have repeatedly penetrated the airspace of the Baltic states bordering Russia.
The incidents regularly concern the security authorities there. Above all, however, the incidents underline how close the war is to NATO’s external border. The Baltic states in particular regularly warn about the threat from the Kremlin.
Sources used:
- AFP news agency
- Own research