Finland detects strike on Russian warship as Zelenskyy meets US envoys

What the report says

Finland’s military said it detected a strike on a Russian navy vessel in the Gulf of Finland, an unusual incident in the Baltic Sea region that came amid heightened concern over drone activity and airspace alerts around the eastern Baltic. According to the statement reported by Al Jazeera, Finnish forces monitored the situation and said Finland was not facing any immediate military threat, but they did not say where the attack originated or how it was identified.

The report said Ukrainian officials have indicated their security service carried out the attack, while local media described the target as a small Russian navy ship that later returned to Saint Petersburg. Reuters also reported that it was not immediately clear whether there were casualties or what caused the strike. The incident followed warnings from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania about drones in their airspace, with NATO aircraft scrambled in response.

The development coincided with renewed US-led diplomacy on the Russia-Ukraine war. On Thursday, US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ireland. Zelenskyy welcomed the mediation effort, while the talks followed earlier negotiations in the United Arab Emirates that produced no major breakthrough beyond a prisoner-exchange agreement. Al Jazeera said the exchange could be carried out in the coming weeks if finalized.