Air, sea traffics halted for 4 hours over possible drone threat

Finland imposed a temporarily restrictions on aviation and maritime traffic for four hours on Saturday morning sensing possible drone threat, said Finnish Defence Force.

The authority imposed the restrictions at 5:18 a.m. over the eastern Gulf of Finland following Ukrainian drone attacks on different areas near St Petersburg in Russia.

Defence Forces also intensified air surveillance along south-eastern coast during the restriction, which was lifted at 9:18 a.m.

The restrictions were imposed as a precautionary measure to ensure authorities´ smooth operation and the safety of civilians, said Defence Forces in a post on its social media platform X.

The authority, however, said that there was no indication of entering any drones into Finnish airspace.

On May 15, 2026, Finnish Defence Forces issued an emergency warning about a potential drone sighting in Uusimaa region.

Earlier two drones that were suspected of violating Finnish airspace over Eastern Finland on May 3 were most likely Ukrainian origin, said Finnish Coast Guard.

Two drones were suspected of violating Finnish airspace in Hamina, a municipality in Eastern Finland on May 3.

Earlier on April 11, 2026, one drone was suspected territorial violation after it was found at Iitti, a municipality in Southern Finland.

Two drones crashed in Kouvola in southeastern Finland after entering into Finnish airspace in the morning on March 29.

One more Ukrainian drone was found in Finland on March 31, 2026.

The Ukrainian authorities apologised to Finland for the drones’ crashes.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that the authorities do not completely exclude the possibility that, in addition to the unmanned aerial vehicles already found in Finland, several other such aircraft might have ended up in the country.

The Finnish Defence Forces intensified surveillance measures to ensure territorial integrity when Ukraine carried out attacks against Russian targets in the eastern Gulf of Finland.

On April 7, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha discussed the recent incidents of drones that have strayed into Finnish territory.