Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said he spoke with President Volodymyr Zelensky about drones straying into Finland’s airspace, calling such incidents “unacceptable,” public broadcaster Yle reported on May 3.<\/p>\n
Finland<\/a>‘s authorities reported two unidentified drones briefly entering<\/a> the country’s airspace near the Finnish-Russian border early on May 3.<\/p>\n The incident coincided with an alleged Ukrainian<\/a> drone strike against Leningrad Oblast, a northwestern Russian region bordering Finland.<\/p>\n “I pointed out that Finland supports Ukraine and understands its right to defend itself,” Orpo told Yle<\/a> about his conversation with Zelensky in Yerevan, where officials gather for the European Political Community summit<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Nevertheless, it is not acceptable that Finland’s airspace is violated and that drones stray into our airspace.”<\/p>\n According to Orpo, Ukrainian authorities will be more cautious regarding drones straying into Finnish airspace after the conversation.<\/p>\n Finnish authorities have not publicly confirmed the origin or model of the drones and said that the country faces “no immediate military threat.” The Finnish military imposed temporary aviation restrictions over the sea area off Kotka and Hamina in Finland’s southeast.<\/p>\n Finland’s Border Guard has launched an investigation into the incident, while Ukraine has yet to comment.<\/p>\n Finland, a NATO and EU member sharing a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, reported four airspace violations by drones earlier this spring.<\/p>\n Helsinki identified at least one drone that crashed on Finnish territory in March as Ukrainian, with Orpo suggesting Russian jamming may have caused the drones to enter Finnish airspace.<\/p>\n Kyiv also said<\/a> at the time that Russia may be intentionally diverting Ukraine’s unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into NATO territory to spark tensions between Ukraine and its allies.<\/p>\n Commenting on their talks in Yerevan, Zelensky said he and Orpo discussed a potential drone technology cooperation deal, and he thanked the Finnish prime minister for a $300 million defense aid package.<\/p>\n “Ukraine is ready to share its expertise and strengthen those who have been strengthening us since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion,” Zelensky said.<\/p>\n Read also: Luxury Moscow tower 7 km from Kremlin reportedly hit by Ukrainian drone strike<\/a><\/p>\n