Finnish fighter jets patrol after Ukrainian drone strikes near St. Petersburg

Finnish Air Force F/A-18 Hornets conducted overnight surveillance flights over southeastern Finland early Wednesday after Ukraine launched drone attacks on Russia’s Leningrad region, state broadcaster Yle reports.

Residents in Kotka, a port city near the Russian border, reported being woken by the jets around 3 a.m. but described the patrols as routine. “I didn’t startle—I’m used to them,” said Marika Gylden, a local resident. Her dog, however, remains frightened by the noise. While accustomed to the flights, Gylden expressed concern about drones potentially straying into Finnish airspace. In March, two drones deviated into southeastern Finland, one landing near Kouvola and another in Luumäki.

Lauri Makkonen, another Kotka resident, called the patrols “a good thing for our defense,” noting he checks news from St. Petersburg or Moscow whenever jets fly overhead. Jenni Pesonen, who lives in the city center, slept through the noise but acknowledged initial unease when the flights began. “Now it’s just normal,” she said.

Arto Rajala, who heard the jets around 6 a.m., supported the patrols but lamented the broader conflict. “It’s sad the world has come to this—that we can’t live in peace,” he said.

The Finnish Defense Forces have intensified surveillance in the region since the March incidents, monitoring both southeastern Finland and the eastern Gulf of Finland.