Ukrainian drones entered Estonian and Latvian air spaces from Russia overnight, with one hitting infrastructure and another crashing on land, Tallinn and Riga have said.
One struck the chimney of a power plant in Auvere, Estonia, while another exploded in the southern Kraslava region of Latvia. No major damage or injuries were reported.
The incident occurred around the same time as Ukraine launched a massive drone attack on the Russian port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, some 25km (15 miles) away from the Estonian border.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Ust-Luga was attacked in three waves between 03:00 and 08:00 local time. Baltic air patrols were activated and Estonians received notifications on their phones warning of a drone threat.
The country's security police chief, Margo Palloson, said it was a Ukrainian drone that deviated from its course, which was possibly affected in Russian airspace. Latvian Prime Minister Edgars Rinkevics also confirmed the drone that hit its territory was Ukrainian.
Latvia's Defence Minister, Andris Spruds, cut short a visit to Ukraine and returned to Latvia in the wake of the incident. Egils Lescinskis, Latvian deputy chief of the Joint Staff, said the drone most likely veered off course or was affected by electromagnetic warfare measures protecting some technically important objects. Drones can sometimes miss their targets when drone jamming systems interfere with their GPS signal.
When asked whether local residents could feel safe, Lescinskis admitted no-one could feel completely safe when military operations are taking place in neighbouring countries. He refrained from blaming Ukraine for the accident and noted that the crash was one of the effects of Russia's full-scale war of aggression.
Palloson warned that the country was likely to see more such incidents, while Prime Minister Michal stated it was pointless to create the illusion that we can build a wall on the border with Russia. A similar incident occurred on Monday night in Lithuania, where a Ukrainian attack drone crashed and exploded near the Belarusian border, confirmed by Lithuanian authorities as part of operations against Russia.
Local officials in the region are calling for enhanced airspace security, highlighting the challenges of safety amidst the ongoing military operations. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to target Russian energy sites with its drone campaigns, causing escalations in tensions across the region.
