Finland’s defense minister raises possibility of closing the Gulf of Finland due to Ukrainian drones

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen has said that air and maritime traffic in the Gulf of Finland could be closed off due to Ukrainian drones attacking St. Petersburg.

He made the statement in an interview with the newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

According to Häkkänen, there is a real threat of UAVs entering Finnish territory. To safely destroy such drones, he said, it would be necessary to temporarily close air and maritime traffic in the gulf.

“The Gulf of Finland is so narrow that the situation can change within minutes,” Häkkänen warned.

The minister urged residents of the country to monitor reports about drone sightings. He addressed fishermen in particular, as they venture out into open waters in boats.

“If the sea is closed for a couple of hours, fishing will have to be postponed,” Häkkänen said.

On July 4, Finland’s defense forces had already imposed restrictions in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland — aviation and vessel traffic were restricted for four hours. The restrictions were connected to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, specifically drone strikes on Russian territory. No drones were detected on Finnish territory at the time.

Previously, Ukraine mistakenly directed strike drones toward Finland. According to the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Kyiv independently notified Helsinki that drones carrying explosives had been accidentally directed into Finnish airspace. Following that incident, concerns were also raised in Finland about a possible Russian response to the flight of Ukrainian drones.