Temporary Air and Maritime Restrictions in Eastern Gulf of Finland Linked to Ukrainian Drone Strikes, Some Drones Entered Finnish Territory

Temporary restrictions on air and maritime traffic in the eastern Gulf of Finland have become a recurring feature this summer, affecting residents, tourists, and businesses in the archipelago off Kotka and Hamina. The Finnish Defence Forces have enforced these measures multiple times in July and once in June, typically lasting a few hours in the early morning, to safely intercept potential stray combat drones. The restrictions have now been explicitly linked to drone attacks carried out by Ukraine against Russia (Yle), with evidence suggesting that some Ukrainian drones have inadvertently entered Finnish territory in recent months.