Ukrainian drone strikes Russian corvette in Gulf of Finland

Finnish officials confirmed that a Russian warship was attacked by a Ukrainian drone in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday. The strike appears to be the first Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian vessel in this part of the Baltic Sea, raising questions about whether Kyiv may widen its operations, though a military analyst said it did not amount to a serious escalation.

Ukraine’s SBU said the target was the Naro-Fominsk, a Buyan-M corvette armed with cruise missiles, and described the attack as part of a wider operation against Russia’s Ust-Luga oil export depot. Estonia’s defence minister said the ship was hit at about 05:30 local time, smoke followed and it headed towards St Petersburg; the damage and any casualties are unknown. Fires were also reported at Ust-Luga, while Finland said maritime traffic remained safe and no threat to shipping had been identified.