Media: Finland issued drone threat alert in May due to mistake by Ukraine

Finnish media outlet Helsingin Sanomat has reported that a drone threat alert issued for the Helsinki area in mid-May may have been caused by a mistake on Ukraine's part.

According to Helsingin Sanomat sources, Ukraine itself issued a warning overnight that it had accidentally directed drones toward Finland. The drones were carrying explosives.

Attack drones are typically programmed using target coordinates and intermediate waypoints that determine their routes. Errors can occur in this process, and this may have happened in Ukraine ahead of 15 May.

According to the Finnish defence forces, the drones never entered Finnish airspace. The reason remains unknown. It is possible that Russian air defence systems shot them down en route.

Very little information was provided to the public about this particular drone threat in the Uusimaa region compared to a March incident when Ukrainian drones fell on the Kymenlaakso region.

As the newspaper notes, the new information changes the understanding of the events of two weeks earlier. The Ministry of the Interior advised all residents of Uusimaa to remain in shelters due to the drone threat. This recommendation affected 1.8 million residents and led to the suspension of air traffic.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen declined to comment on the matter.

Last week, Stubb said he does not believe that Russia is attempting to direct drones toward Finland. He based this view on information received from the defence forces and the Air Force.

On 28 May, Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador after a Russian aircraft may have violated Finnish airspace.