The All Points North podcast delves into a sudden drone alert that briefly shut down the capital region before being lifted just hours later.
The 15 May alert is among the most unusual public warning incidents Finland has seen in recent years, briefly bringing the country’s busiest region to a standstill in the early morning hours before the situation was quickly resolved.
While the warning was lifted within hours, the circumstances surrounding the alert remain only partly explained, with reports suggesting it may have been connected to a Ukrainian military operation targeting Russia.
“So it’s probably only a matter of time before it’s Finland’s turn,” security expert Keir Giles said of the event. “Russia has seen that the political impact of these stray drones is out of all proportion. For example, in Latvia, where an incident of this kind brought the government down, that gives Russia a strong incentive to keep on doing this, which makes it all the more important to find an answer,” added Giles of the UK-based Chatham House think-tank.
While Finnish authorities have not disclosed the full details of the threat, the government has renewed talk of preparedness.
“How can I, as an individual, be prepared for different kinds of situations like a power outage, or if I see a drone approaching?” asked the interior ministry’s Pauliina Eskola, telling listeners to keep enough water, food, medicines — and cash on hand for 72 hours.
Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Inside Finland’s drone scare
For the season finale, this week’s podcast also rounds up the biggest stories from Finland this week and offers a viewing tip from Yle’s streaming platform, Areena.
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Zena Iovino produced and presented this episode of All Points North. The sound engineer was Pasi Ilkka.
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