A Ukrainian drone crashed in Finland. Helsinki won’t ask Kyiv to stop.

Finland will not call on Ukraine to halt or scale back its strikes on Russia’s oil infrastructure, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said, even after a Ukrainian drone entered Finnish airspace and crashed on its territory.

Her comments come a day after Finland confirmed that at least one Ukrainian drone entered its airspace and crashed near the southeastern city of Kouvola, in an incident that prompted a military response and heightened alert levels.

Speaking to Yle, Valtonen said Helsinki does not place restrictions on how Ukraine defends itself.

“Finland does not demand anything like that,” she said, referring to potential limits on Ukrainian strikes against Russia’s energy sector. “Ukraine has the right to defend itself. We do not set requirements on what targets it chooses to influence in Russia.”

Drone incident does not change security assessment

Despite the incident, Valtonen said Finland’s overall security situation has not significantly changed.

According to her, there is no indication that the drones were part of a deliberate hostile act against Finland. Authorities believe they likely strayed off course.

While acknowledging that such incidents can cause concern among the public, Valtonen said the situation is being taken seriously and that Finnish authorities are working to ensure safety.

“Our starting point in discussions with Ukraine is that this must not happen,” she said, adding that Finland has strong defense and security institutions in place.

Background: Ukrainian drone enters Finnish airspace

Finland confirmed on 29 March that a Ukrainian AN196 Liutyi drone crossed into its airspace after being tracked by Finnish fighter jets. The military opted not to shoot it down due to the risk of collateral damage, and the drone later crashed north of Kouvola.

The incident comes amid an expansion of Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign targeting Russian oil depots, refineries, and export infrastructure in regions near the Baltic, including areas bordering Finland and Estonia.

These operations are aimed at disrupting Russia’s energy revenues and military logistics, but they also increase the risk of drones straying into neighboring countries.

Ukraine apologizes to Finland over drone incident

Ukraine apologized to Finland following the airspace violation, Ukrainian Pravda reported, as Kyiv moves to clarify the circumstances and maintain coordination with Helsinki.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine is in contact with Finnish authorities and is sharing all necessary information about the incident.

“We can state unequivocally that no Ukrainian drones were directed towards Finland under any circumstances,” he said, adding that the most likely cause was interference from Russian electronic warfare systems.

Tykhyi confirmed that Ukraine had already issued an apology to the Finnish side for the incident.

He added that Kyiv shares Finland’s view that both the incident and wider regional security challenges stem from Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

Finland strengthens drone defense

Valtonen said Finland is now accelerating efforts to develop its own counter-drone systems, which could be operational within months.

According to Yle, the comments follow reports that Ukraine has received signals from some partners about potentially reducing long-range strikes on Russia’s oil sector – a suggestion Finland does not support.

Helsinki’s position reflects a balancing act: backing Ukraine’s right to strike military and economic targets inside Russia, while seeking to prevent incidents that could pose risks on Finnish territory.