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Drone discovered in Iitti forest

Police received a report of a drone on Saturday afternoon.

A map depicting Helsinki, Lahti and Iitti.
Image: Saara Paasikivi / Yle, Mapcreator, OpenStreetMap
  • Yle News

Police are investigating a drone discovered on the ground in Iitti, some 140 kilometres northeast of Helsinki, on Saturday afternoon.

They said it is a similar aircraft to those previously found in southeastern Finland, which are all suspected to be Ukrainian.

Officials are investigating whether the incident is linked to earlier cases in which drones were found in Kouvola, Luumäki and Parikkala at the end of March.

A Ukrainian spokesperson previously said the drones ending up in Finnish territory were likely caused by electronic signal interference from Russia.

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Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) sought to calm the public, while pledging that the government will consider more funding for drone defences.

Authorities exploded the detached warhead of a suspected Ukrainian drone found in ​​Iitti, midway between Lahti and Kouvola. The sound was caught on a reporter's video.

Transport Minister Lulu Ranne (Finns) says a long-delayed cross-border train to Sweden should begin rolling this summer, allowing passengers to ride the rails from continental Europe to Finnish Lapland, or overland between the Finnish and Swedish capitals.