Finland temporarily shut down its largest airport, Helsinki-Vantaa, on Friday morning after authorities detected a suspected drone incursion into the country’s airspace, marking the first such disruption since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Finland temporarily closed Helsinki-Vantaa Airport for several hours on May 15 after authorities detected what officials described as a possible drone threat, Bloomberg reported.
According to Kimmo Kohvakka, head of rescue services at Finland’s Ministry of the Interior, at least one drone entered Finnish territory. The aircraft was believed to be heading toward an area between Helsinki and the southern city of Porvoo, where the Neste Oyj oil refinery is located.
Finland’s defense forces raised their combat readiness level in response. Finnish Air Force Hornet fighter jets were scrambled over the Uusimaa region, which includes Helsinki, and along the country’s southern coast.
Air traffic at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was restricted, while vessels in the Gulf of Finland were rerouted. Several flights arriving from Asia – including from Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong and Singapore – were diverted to alternate airports in Stockholm and the northern Finnish city of Rovaniemi.
Authorities also delayed several routes, including a connection to Berlin via Tallinn.
Nearly 2 million residents in southern Finland received emergency instructions early in the morning advising them to remain indoors and stay away from windows due to the drone threat.
Finnish defense officials later said there was currently no direct military threat to the country.
During Ukraine’s overnight strikes on targets inside Russia, Latvian authorities also issued warnings about a possible threat to their airspace.
Ukraine’s Defense Forces hit several major Russian military and energy targets overnight and into Thursday, May 15, including the Ryazan oil refinery, Russian warships, ammunition depots, and radar systems, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
Ukrainian forces hit the Ryazan oil refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region, causing a large fire at the facility.
The refinery is one of Russia’s largest oil-processing plants, with an annual processing capacity of around 17 million tons of oil.
“The plant produces gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel used to meet the needs of the Russian occupation forces,” the General Staff said.
Overnight on Friday, a large-scale drone attack ignited a major fire at the Ryazan Oil Refinery, one of Russia’s largest fuel production facilities, according to local residents and Russian monitoring channels.
Multiple loud explosions were reported after several drones were seen flying over the city. Videos shared online appeared to show flames and thick smoke rising from the refinery.
Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov claimed that local air defense and electronic warfare units intercepted the incoming drones, but said falling debris caused a fire on the premises of an industrial enterprise.
The Rosneft-operated Ryazan facility, located roughly 460 kilometers (286 miles) from the Ukrainian border, processes up to 17.1 million tons of crude oil annually and is considered a key site for Russia’s fuel supply.
The attack coincided with drone alerts and intercepts near Moscow, prompting temporary flight restrictions at Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports.