Russia Deliberately Directs Ukrainian Drones into NATO Territory, Says Estonian Foreign Minister

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated on May 22 that Russia is deliberately steering Ukrainian military drones into NATO territory, following a series of airspace violations in Baltic states. Three Baltic states and Finland, all frontline NATO members, have reported an increasing number of Ukrainian drones accidentally violating their airspace. Ukrainian authorities attribute these deviations to Russian electronic warfare capabilities, as the drones are intended for targets in Russia.

At a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Tsahkna reiterated that Russia is directing these drones into NATO territory. Other NATO foreign ministers rejected Moscow's claims that Baltic states had opened their airspace to aid Ukrainian attacks on Russia, with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul calling the claim «absurd». Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski suggested this could be «propaganda preparation for something insane,» noting Russia's history of deception.

Incidents include two unidentified drones entering Latvian airspace on May 7, 2026, one crashing near a Rēzekne oil facility. On May 19, 2026, a Romanian F-16 on a NATO mission shot down a Ukrainian strike drone over Lake Võrtsjärv in southern Estonia, marking the first NATO drone shootdown in Baltic airspace. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi apologized to Estonia, citing Russian electronic warfare. Lithuania activated NATO Baltic Air Policing and closed Vilnius airport on May 20 after detecting a suspected drone from Belarus. Latvia issued its third airspace alert in three days on May 21, 2026. The Latvian defense minister and prime minister resigned after these incidents.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on May 20 that Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on May 18, 2026, that Ukrainian forces were preparing drone strikes against Russia from Latvian territory, with operators already deployed to Latvian military bases. The SVR implied Russia intends to strike these alleged launch points and «Latvian decision-making centers.» ISW assessed this as part of a Russian effort to «set conditions to violate Baltic and Finnish airspace or conduct other military operations against the Baltics.»