EU blames Russia for incident involving Ukrainian drones flying over Finnish airspace
'Even when drones fly over EU member states, the primary culprit is Russia. Without Russia, this would not (have) happened,' says European Commission spokesperson
ISTANBUL
The European Commission on Monday blamed Russia for an incident involving Ukrainian drones flying over Finnish airspace.
“Even when drones fly over EU member states, the primary culprit is Russia. Without Russia, this would not (have) happened,” spokesperson Anitta Hipper said during the European Commission's midday press briefing.
She added that the informal EU Foreign Affairs Council that will be held in Ukraine on Tuesday will reaffirm support for Kyiv and underline the bloc’s commitment to Ukraine’s security and defense.
Meanwhile, spokesperson Thomas Regnier also said member states have taken steps to strengthen counter‑drone systems and that the EU is ready to support these efforts.
Finland’s Defense Ministry earlier reported that at least two unmanned aerial vehicles were detected in the country’s southeastern region, with one drone identified by the Finnish Air Force as Ukrainian before crashing near Kouvola.
Finnish F/A‑18 fighter jets were deployed to identify the objects but did not engage them to avoid collateral damage.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed the incident with his Finnish counterpart, Alexander Stubb, and that both "see this situation the same way."
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