Ukrainian drone strikes Russian warship Naro-Fominsk in Gulf of Finland

Finnish officials confirmed on Wednesday that a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian warship Naro‑Fominsk in the Gulf of Finland, a narrow stretch of the Baltic Sea used by oil tankers and civilian vessels. The attack occurred in the early hours, around 05:30 local time, and the ship was seen smoking before turning back toward St Petersburg. Finnish authorities said the incident was a direct response to Russia’s ongoing full‑scale war against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, said the strike was part of a larger drone operation targeting Russia’s Ust‑Luga oil export depot on the Baltic coast. The operation marked the first known instance of Ukrainian drones hitting a Russian naval vessel in a part of the Baltic open to commercial traffic. Finland, one of Kyiv’s closest European allies, has warned that the attack reflects the widening reach of Ukrainian retaliation, but it also stressed that the overall security situation in the Gulf remains stable.

The Naro‑Fominsk is a Buyan‑M class corvette equipped with Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles. Estonia’s defence minister, Martin Herem, reported that smoke rose from the ship after the hit and that the vessel withdrew without confirming the extent of damage or casualties. Unverified reports also mentioned the possible destruction of Russian combat helicopters. Ukrainian drones were observed hitting storage tanks at the Ust‑Luga terminal throughout the night, with visible fires seen from neighboring Estonia. NATO aircraft based in the Baltic states were scrambled, and one drone briefly entered Estonian airspace before heading toward Russia. Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi said the Baltic Sea fleet had been untouched until now, but the strike exploited a brief window of opportunity rather than signalling a major escalation.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the Gulf of Finland remains safe for marine traffic and warned that the waterway’s narrowness and the presence of subsea data cables make any further attacks risky for civilian shipping. Defence officials have reportedly cautioned Kyiv about the potential fallout of expanding operations into the Baltic. Observers note that while the incident shows Ukraine’s growing ability to strike beyond the Black Sea, it also raises new security concerns for NATO members bordering the Gulf and could prompt tighter monitoring of drone activity in the region.