Authorities are investigating unmanned aerial devices that fell to the ground in the southeastern region of Kymenlaakso on Sunday morning, according to police.
According to Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen (NCP), it was a question of drones.
"Drones have strayed into Finnish territory. We take this very seriously. Security authorities have responded immediately. The investigation will continue and more detailed information will be provided once the facts are confirmed," the minister said.
According to the latest available information, one drone crashed north of Kouvola and another hit the ground east of the city.
On Sunday morning, several small, slow-moving devices were detected flying at low altitude in Finnish airspace at sea and in southeastern parts of the country, according to the ministry.
It said the Air Force scrambled F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets to identify the objects.
The Air Force has confirmed that at least one of the drones was Ukrainian.
The Air Force said that at at 8:45am it tracked and identified a Ukrainian AN196 drone in the area, adding that the pilot did not use suppressive fire in an effort to avoid collateral damage. The drone crashed into the ground north of Kouvola, according to the military branch.
Police cordoned off the accident area, just north of the city of Kouvola on the Savistontie road. Kouvola is approximately 130km northeast of Helsinki, and roughly 100km west of the Russian border.
In a statement, police said that no injuries had been reported.
On Sunday afternoon, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) said that the drones were likely Ukrainian, adding that the incident is still being investigated.
The PM characterised the territorial violation as a very serious matter.
According to Orpo, Ukraine has been targeting Russia's oil facilities and its so-called shadow fleets, because it uses fossil fuel sales proceeds to finance its war in Ukraine.
The rescue services of Kymenlaakso received a report about the incident shortly after 10am on Sunday. Initially, police said it was a question of one flying device that had fallen to the ground.
Finnish Air Force fighter jets were seen in skies over southeastern Finland earlier on Sunday morning. The Defence Forces said at the time that they were conducting reconnaissance and surveillance flights in the area.
Drone in Espoo was civilian
On Sunday afternoon, the Western Uusimaa Police Department received a report of an drone that had landed on sea ice by the Mellsteninranta shore in Espoo.
Police cordoned off the area in the Haukilahti district and investigated the incident with other authorities.
Police said later on Sunday that it was a question of a civilian drone that was being used recreationally and that they do not suspect any criminal activity.
