Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) delivered a message of reassurance on Tuesday, following the two armed drones that strayed into southeastern Finland on Sunday.
"There is no indication that the drones were sent to Finland deliberately. There is no military threat to Finland. Finns can sleep peacefully," he said.
Orpo made the comments at a multi-agency joint press conference in Helsinki on Tuesday.
At least one of the downed drones was Ukrainian, and the second one was also likely launched from the war-torn country. They crashed in two locations in the outskirts of the city of Kouvola.
Ukraine has recently carried out a number of drone strikes on Russian oil infrastructure facilities around the Gulf of Finland.
According to Orpo, Sunday's incident "means that the war is coming closer to us. Ukraine has the right to defend itself".
Orpo also noted that Ukraine issued an apology for the incident on Monday.
Orpo emphasised that Finland has the capability to defend itself, including against drones. But he noted that there is no "100 percent guarantee" that drones won't enter Finnish airspace.
He said it is likely that the country's attacks on Russian oil ports will continue.
Orpo said the government will assess the need to boost Finland's drone defence capabilities during the spring budget sessions at the latest.
"In the coming years, we will spend significant amounts on [combatting] drone threats. If there is a critical need right now, more funding will be coming," he said.
No emergency alert issued
Representatives of a number of agencies were also present at Tuesday's press conference, including experts from the Finnish Defence Forces (FDF), the Border Guard, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the National Police Board, as well as the Ministry of Defence.
Authorities did not issue a public emergency warning as the drone incident unfolded. According to the defence ministry, it was not necessary.
Police Commissioner Ilkka Koskimäki noted that the drones were already on the ground when police and rescue services were informed about the incident.
"At the time, it was thought that adequate cordoning of the area was a sufficient measure, there was no danger to the residents in the area," Koskimäki said.
"We knew roughly where it was, but there was no exact location. We saw no reason to launch more extensive public alerts," said Air Force Major General Timo Herranen.
According to Herranen, Finland is constantly using radar to monitor drones sent from Ukraine.
"We have information about their operations and are monitoring them constantly," he explained.
