HELSINKI, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Four Ukrainian military drones found in Finland in March and April were diverted from their intended route by satellite navigation interference in combination with wind, Finnish police and border guards said on Wednesday.
Finland and nearby Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have seen a string of recent incidents where Ukrainian drones aimed at Russia have strayed into their airspace.
• “The investigation established that the UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) originated in Ukraine and formed part of Ukraine’s countermeasures in response to Russia’s war of aggression,” the Finnish Border Guard said in a statement.
• “The UAVs had not, however, been targeted at Finland; instead, they were thrown off course by strong GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) jamming detected in the eastern Gulf of Finland at the time, combined with the prevailing weather conditions,” it added.
• The agencies said the prosecutor had closed the investigations into the incidents, having found no grounds to pursue criminal liability.
• The agencies said all four drones had carried explosives. No injuries or property damage were reported in connection with the crashes.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
