Finland Detects Strike on Russian Warship as Ukraine Claims Hit

Finland’s military said Thursday that its forces detected “a strike” on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland a day earlier, as Ukraine’s Security Service claimed it had hit a Russian missile ship in the Baltic, according to Reuters and the defense publication Janes.

“The Finnish Defence Forces detected… a strike on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland area and has monitored the development of the situation,” a spokesperson for Finland’s military said in an emailed statement to Reuters, as published by Defense News. The spokesperson added that Finland is not under any immediate military threat, according to Reuters.

Finland says it detects strike on Russian warship in Baltic Sea https://t.co/5kybDXKrz2

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 12, 2026

The Finnish Defence Forces declined to provide further details about the location or timing of the incident, or how it was detected, Reuters reported. A Finnish military spokesperson told Janes that the security situation in the Baltic Sea remains stable.

Ukraine Claims a Kalibr-Capable Corvette

Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, said it planned and carried out an attack on the Buyan-M-class small missile ship Naro-Fominsk, according to Janes and Finland’s public broadcaster Yle. Janes reported that the SBU did not specify the weapon used or provide evidence of damage to the vessel, while Yle reported that the SBU said Ukrainian drones carried out the strike early Wednesday.

According to Janes, the SBU linked the attack to a wider operation the night of Nov. 11 against port, oil-processing and transport infrastructure at Ust-Luga, a Russian port near St. Petersburg. Janes reported that Ukraine’s armed forces said five oil-product tanks were damaged and a large fire broke out there.

Janes reported that the Naro-Fominsk was commissioned in December 2023, is assigned to Russia’s Baltic Fleet and can carry Kalibr cruise missiles and P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles, according to the SBU. Russian forces have used both missile types in attacks on Ukraine, Janes reported.

Ship Headed Back to St. Petersburg

A senior Finnish official confirmed to Yle that Finland detected an attack near the Russian island of Gogland, which Yle reported sits about 40 kilometers south of Finland and 55 kilometers north of Estonia. Estonian Defence Minister Martin Herem confirmed to Estonian public broadcaster ERR that an explosion occurred on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland and that the ship left for St. Petersburg afterward, according to Yle.

Reuters reported that it was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. Yle reported that a Telegram channel following the war cited a source saying crew members may have been killed or injured, a claim that has not been independently confirmed.

Drones Near NATO Airspace

The incident comes as Ukraine has been sending waves of drones toward Russia’s northwest Leningrad region, and some have strayed into the airspace of Finland and the Baltic states, raising fears the war is spilling over into NATO countries bordering Russia, according to Reuters. Reuters reported that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued warnings early Wednesday telling citizens to take shelter because of drones in their airspace, and NATO scrambled warplanes in response.

Yle reported that the Finnish Defence Forces imposed temporary restrictions on maritime areas and airspace in the eastern Gulf of Finland early Wednesday as a precaution after Ukraine attacked Ust-Luga. Russia had not publicly confirmed the strike on the warship in the reporting cited here.

Sources

• Reuters on X
• Reuters via Defense News
• Janes
• Yle

Compiled from Reuters.