(Adnkronos) – Finnish authorities are investigating a “possible territorial violation” after an aerial drone was found on the coast in the south of the country. The drone was discovered yesterday on the shore of an island in the Porvoo archipelago, in the Gulf of Finland, less than two hours’ drive east of Helsinki, the capital. “Finnish border guards and police are investigating the incident,” Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said in a statement. The drone posed no risk to the population as it was not carrying explosives, specified the border guard officer in charge of the investigation, Antti Leskelä. “It has been established that this device is not dangerous,” he said, adding that it is “too early to say” if the drone came from neighboring Russia.
According to a statement from the Finnish Ministry of Defense, initial information indicated that the device had been “used for reconnaissance and mapping activities.” It was a “fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle,” “several meters” long, Leskelä specified. Border guards are particularly trying to determine the drone’s origin, as well as its flight path or any drift towards Finland.
The officer added that it is “absolutely possible” that the device reached the Finnish coast after being carried by drift from other areas of the Baltic Sea. He declined to provide further comments regarding the drone’s possible purpose, explaining that “the investigation is still ongoing.” In recent months, Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Russian oil terminals in the Gulf of Finland, while Finland has in turn reported several off-course Ukrainian drones that have crashed on its territory.
