Ukraine strikes Russian warship in Gulf of Finland amid Abu Dhabi talks

Finnish Defense Forces detected a Ukrainian strike on a Russian warship in the Gulf of Finland area, at an extremely sensitive time, as delegations of the two countries were meeting in Abu Dhabi with American mediation — the first talks of their kind since February.

A Finnish military spokesman told Reuters that Helsinki faces no direct military threat, noting that it was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties. Estonian media reported that the targeted ship was a small naval vessel that returned afterwards to St. Petersburg. Ukraine's Security Service revealed that the strike targeted the small Buyan-M class missile ship Naro-Fominsk, as part of a special operation.

At the same time, Ukraine launched waves of drones toward Russia's Leningrad region, causing a fire in the Ust-Luga port area and injuring three workers, according to what the region's governor Alexander Drozdenko announced. Ukraine's General Staff announced via Telegram that the strikes damaged five fuel tanks, adding: "According to preliminary information, the tank network was damaged more extensively."

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen informed Kyiv of the "sensitivity" of this narrow strait between Finland and Estonia, given its importance for civilian navigation and environmental safety, while affirming at the same time to public opinion that the sea remains safe, according to what Finnish broadcaster Yle reported.

The strikes pushed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to demand that their citizens take shelter after some drones violated their airspace, while NATO forces rushed to deploy fighter jets.

On the negotiations front, the Abu Dhabi talks, which lasted two days, resulted in an agreement to exchange large numbers of prisoners within two to three weeks, according to what Russia's TASS agency reported, without reaching a breakthrough on the land file, which remains the fundamental point of dispute. German newspaper Bild revealed that Russian negotiators proposed in Abu Dhabi that Finland withdraw from NATO, that the alliance's military bases be barred in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as arrangements to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea.