Finland's military said it detected "a strike" on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, as Ukraine sent waves of drones toward Russia's northwestern Leningrad region.
"The Finnish Defence Forces detected… a strike on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland area and has monitored the development of the situation," a military spokesperson told Reuters in an emailed statement. The spokesperson said Finland was not under any immediate military threat, but declined to say where or when the incident happened, or how it had been detected.
Ukraine's Security Service said it attacked the Buyan-M-class small missile ship Naro-Fominsk as part of a special operation, according to Finnish broadcaster Yle. The corvette, commissioned into Russia's Baltic Fleet in December 2023, carries Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles.
Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem said the ship was hit at about 5:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Estonian media reported that the vessel later returned to St. Petersburg. The extent of any casualties or damage remains unclear, and Russia's defence ministry did not immediately comment.
The strike was part of a broader drone operation against Russia's Ust-Luga oil export terminal on the Baltic coast. Drones caused a fire in the port area, injuring three workers, regional Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said. Ukraine's General Staff said the strike damaged five fuel tanks, and Drozdenko said 150 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region during the attack, which also cut off a power station.
The attack is thought to be the first time Ukrainian drones have struck a Russian ship in an area of the Baltic Sea open to civilian maritime traffic, raising concerns that the war is spilling closer to NATO's borders. The Gulf of Finland, a narrow arm of the Baltic between Finland and Estonia — both NATO members — extends east to St. Petersburg.
Finland's Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen said Helsinki had raised the strike with Kyiv. The strike came as Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Abu Dhabi for their first U.S.-brokered talks since February.
