Ukrainian drone strikes Russian ship Naro-Fominsk in the Gulf of Finland

Attack in the Gulf of Finland

Finnish officials have confirmed that a Russian military ship was attacked in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, although little is known about the details of the incident. BBC News reports. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said the target was the ship Naro-Fominsk, and that the strike was part of a larger drone operation against the Ust-Luga oil export terminal on Russia's Baltic coast. According to the SBU, it is a Buyan-M class corvette armed with Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles. There were also unconfirmed reports of Russian combat helicopters being destroyed.

What is known about the consequences

Estonia's Defence Minister Martin Herem told public broadcaster ERR that the ship was hit at around 05:30 (03:30 GMT) on Wednesday, but did not specify exactly how: «We know that smoke was coming from the ship afterwards. The ship itself headed back towards St Petersburg». The extent of the damage and any crew losses remain unclear — Moscow rarely discloses such details. According to the BBC, the attack appears to have taken place in a narrow stretch of water some distance from the Finnish coast. This is believed to be the first time Ukrainian drones have attacked a Russian ship in the part of the Baltic Sea open to civilian shipping.

Reaction of countries in the region

Finland, one of Kyiv's closest European allies, described the incident as a direct consequence of Russia's ongoing full-scale war. Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the situation in the Baltic Sea remains stable and safe and that there is no threat to maritime traffic. According to the BBC, Finnish defence officials are understood to have emphasised to Kyiv that the gulf is a relatively narrow waterway used by oil tankers and civilian vessels, and where underwater data cables run. Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi, a co-founder of the monitoring group Black Bird, noted that the Baltic Fleet had until now remained untouched, and that Ukraine, in his words, «understandably» tried to seize the opportunity that had opened up. At the same time, in his assessment, the strike does not constitute a serious escalation, although it is unprecedented: in the Black Sea, Russian and Ukrainian vessels have been attacked regularly since February 2022.

Drones over Ust-Luga and the question of airspace

According to Herem, Ukrainian drones attacked the Ust-Luga area from around midnight until about 06:00, mostly flying close to the Estonian border but still within Russian airspace. Several tanks at the terminal are believed to have been hit overnight into Wednesday, and fires at the port were visible from Estonian territory. One drone, he said, briefly entered Estonian airspace from Latvia and then headed towards Russia. NATO aircraft based in the Baltic states were in the air, but Herem said it was deemed unsafe to shoot the drones down. Later on Wednesday, spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry Heorhii Tykhyi called Moscow's claims that Kyiv had used the airspace of the Baltic states to attack Russia «unfounded», although he allowed that «incidents may occur when Russia uses electronic warfare to deflect drones away from its own airspace».

Image source, Russian military