02:01 24-05-2026

Baltic States Accused Russia After Drone Incidents

Eight Northern European and Baltic countries accused Russia of disinformation after Ukrainian drone incidents in NATO airspace.

Add Military Affairs to your preferred Google sources

The foreign ministries of eight Northern European and Baltic countries issued a joint statement after a series of drone incidents in the airspace of European states. In the document, they accused Russia of running a disinformation campaign. The statement was published by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kyastutis Budris on X.

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland joined the statement. They condemned Russia’s threats to use force against Latvia and other countries in the region, and also said that drone incursions into NATO airspace were a direct consequence of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The foreign ministers stressed that the countries of Northern Europe and the Baltics had not allowed their territory or airspace to be used for strikes on targets in Russia. According to them, Moscow is using the drone issue to divert attention from the Ukrainian conflict.

The joint statement also says that the countries of the region, as NATO allies, remain united in defending the alliance’s territory and airspace and confirm their commitment to collective defense under Article 5 of the NATO Charter. The ministers said they would continue to strengthen defense and counter Russia’s actions, including disinformation.

During the current month, incidents involving Ukrainian drones were recorded in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

On May 18, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas reported that one of the drones entered the country’s airspace unnoticed: the monitoring system failed to detect it because of its small size and low flight altitude. A day earlier, the head of the National Crisis Management Center, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said that a foreign drone had fallen in Utensky district. According to him, the wreckage found indicated the Ukrainian origin of the aircraft.

On May 19, a NATO F-16 fighter jet shot down a drone over Estonia that was also of Ukrainian origin. Estonian Defense Minister Khanno Pevkur said at the time that a foreign drone had been destroyed over the country’s territory for the first time.

In early May, the Russian Defense Ministry reported detecting a group of Ukrainian drones in the sky over Latvia. One of the aircraft fell on the country’s territory. Latvian military personnel did not shoot down the drones, explaining this by the risk to civilians. After the incident, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds resigned. He was followed by Prime Minister Evika Silinya and the entire Latvian government.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga later acknowledged that the drone that fell in Latvia on May 7 was Ukrainian. After that, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry apologized to Estonia and other Baltic countries for unintended incidents involving Ukrainian drones.

In early April, Moscow issued a special warning to the Baltic countries over the decision to open airspace for AFU drones flying during attacks on Russia. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia responded by saying they had not given Kiev such permission.

At the same time, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported in May that servicemen of the AFU Unmanned Systems Forces had been sent to Latvia for further strikes on Russian territory. The Latvian Foreign Ministry responded with a categorical protest and accused Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service of disinformation.