Kouvola to train schoolchildren in drone protection as threat persists

The city of Kouvola in southeastern Finland will begin training schoolchildren in drone safety measures as soon as possible, following multiple incidents of military drones crashing in the region this spring, Yle reports.

Vesa Huuskonen, Kouvola’s security director and a former military officer, stated that schools must incorporate drone threat preparedness into their safety plans. He urged principals to allocate time for drills and discussions with students before the school year ends.

“The goal should be to ensure these situations have been practiced by the time schools close for the summer,” Huuskonen said.

Four military drones—likely linked to Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets near Finland’s eastern border—were found in Kouvola and nearby areas between late March and early April. The discoveries coincided with reports of GPS interference in Finland and Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian ports in the eastern Gulf of Finland.

Huuskonen described the drone threat as most acute in the Kymenlaakso and South Karelia regions, where the risk of stray drones remains elevated as long as cross-border strikes continue. While Finland has gained experience from recent incidents, he acknowledged that full preparedness is challenging due to the unpredictable nature of such events.

The Finnish government has allocated additional funding for drone defence in its latest budget framework, including a €40 million increase in defence spending for next year. Huuskonen welcomed the decision, calling drone monitoring and countermeasures a “broad effort” that will significantly improve security.

Before this spring, Finnish municipalities had not needed to account for foreign military drones in their safety planning. Kouvola’s initiative reflects a broader shift in local security strategies amid evolving regional threats.