Finland closes airspace, restricts maritime traffic near Russia over drone risk

HELSINKI — Finland’s military said on Tuesday it had closed a section of Finnish airspace and restricted maritime traffic off the country’s southern coast near the Russian border due to a risk of stray drones in the area.

Ukrainian military drones targeting Russia have strayed into the airspace of Finland , Estonia , Latvia and Lithuania this year, raising concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO’s northern borders.

Finland was taking the steps “so that we can ensure the authorities are able to operate if drones were to stray into the area, meaning safe countermeasures and the safety of bystanders,” a military spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the military could not comment on the source of the information about possible drone activity, “as it is operational information.”

Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian targets with long-range drones. It and NATO countries have blamed Russian signal jamming for diverting some Ukrainian drones into NATO airspace. Moscow accuses Ukraine of intentionally steering drones across the borders.

赫尔辛基——芬兰军方周二表示，由于该地区存在无人机误入的风险，已关闭芬兰部分空域，并限制了该国南部海岸靠近俄罗斯边境的海上交通。

今年，针对俄罗斯的乌克兰军用无人机误入芬兰、爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚和立陶宛的领空，引发了人们对乌克兰战争蔓延至北约北部边界的担忧。

芬兰军方发言人表示，芬兰采取这些措施是为了“确保当局能够在无人机误入该区域时能够采取行动，这意味着安全的应对措施和旁观者的安全”。

发言人表示，军方无法对有关可能存在无人机活动的信息来源发表评论，“因为这是作战信息”。

乌克兰加大了使用远程无人机攻击俄罗斯目标的力度。乌克兰和北约国家指责俄罗斯干扰信号，导致部分乌克兰无人机进入北约领空。莫斯科则指责乌克兰故意引导无人机越境。