⚓ Ukrainian drone hits a Russian warship in the Baltic for the first time
Finland confirmed a Russian corvette was struck in the Gulf of Finland during a Ukrainian drone raid on the Ust-Luga oil port.
The mystery
Russian and Ukrainian ships have been attacked in the Black Sea since the full-scale invasion of February 2022, but Russia's Baltic fleet had been left alone. The Gulf of Finland is narrow and busy with tankers, ferries and undersea data cables. What happened there, and is it a sign the war is spreading?
The answer
According to Ukraine's SBU, its target was the Naro-Fominsk, a small Buyan-M class corvette armed with Kalibr and Oniks cruise missiles, as part of an overnight drone operation against the Ust-Luga oil export terminal, where several fuel tanks were reportedly damaged. Estonia's defence minister said the ship was struck at about 05:30 local time, smoked afterwards and headed back toward St Petersburg. Damage and casualties are unclear, and Moscow rarely gives details. Finland, one of Kyiv's closest allies, called the strike a result of Russia's war and said Baltic shipping remained safe. One drone briefly crossed into Estonian airspace from Latvia; NATO jets were airborne but did not fire. A Finnish analyst said the strike was unprecedented but not a serious escalation.
Now think about this
When a war reaches a sea full of civilian ships and data cables, how can neighbouring countries keep it from spilling over?
