Finnish officials warned that drone activity near the Nordic country's borders is likely to persist after two unidentified drones entered its airspace and crashed on Sunday morning.

The incidents occurred in southeastern Finland, near the city of Kouvola in the Kymenlaakso region. One drone crashed north of Kouvola, while the other fell east of the city. The Finnish Air Force confirmed that at least one was a Ukrainian AN196 model with a 6.7-meter wingspan that carried an unexploded warhead. The second drone remains unidentified but is suspected to be Ukrainian as well.

Several small, low-flying objects were detected over a maritime area and southeastern Finland around 8:45 a.m. The Finnish Air Force scrambled F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets to identify them but did not engage with suppressive fire to avoid collateral damage. The drones subsequently crashed to the ground. No injuries or property damage were reported, though authorities cordoned off the crash sites and conducted a controlled detonation on the AN196 drone.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo described the territorial violations as a very serious matter. He linked the drones to Ukraine's recent intensified attacks on Russian oil refineries and export facilities near the Finnish border, such as ports in Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea. "Russia has extremely strong electronic jamming capabilities, which could explain why these drones are drifting into Finnish airspace, something that is a very serious issue," Orpo said.

Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen echoed the concern, stating, "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 events follow a pattern of similar drone drifts into NATO member states' airspace. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have reported Ukrainian drones crashing during strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. Ukrainian officials apologized for the incident, attributing it to the drone going astray amid electronic interference from Russia.

The European Commission expressed concern over the incursions but placed responsibility on Russia for potential jamming. An investigation by Finnish security authorities remains ongoing, with last weekend seeing over 100 drones detected near the border, some as close as 8 kilometers away.

Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has heightened border security measures. The airspace breaches underscore the spillover risks from the ongoing conflict as Ukraine targets Russia's war economy through drone campaigns against fossil fuel revenues.