Estonia accuses Russia of steering Ukrainian drones into NATO airspace

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has accused Russia of deliberately directing Ukrainian drones into NATO airspace in an effort to weaken allied support for Ukraine.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Sweden on May 22, as reported by European Pravda, Tsahkna addressed the recent increase in drone-related incidents across the Baltic states, placing responsibility on Moscow.

“In recent weeks, more and more drones have been entering our territory – these are Ukrainian drones, but Russia is responsible for this, because it is Russia that is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, and it is Russia that directs these drones into NATO territory,” the minister said.

He referred to NATO’s air defence capabilities on its eastern flank, noting that a drone was shot down over Estonia on May 19.

Tsahkna argued that Russia is exploiting such incidents to serve its own strategic objectives, including pressuring allies to push Ukraine to scale back its operations and weakening international support for Kyiv. He emphasised that Ukraine retains the right to strike targets inside Russia.

“I want to assure you that Ukraine has every right to attack these targets deep inside Russia that help wage this war of conquest against it. So I think Ukraine will continue. Of course, they need to be more careful. But all responsibility in this matter lies with Russia,” he said.

The Estonian foreign minister added that such developments should instead prompt increased pressure on Russia.

“Putin is trying to split Western unity and also to make us all put more pressure on Ukraine to stop these attacks, ‘long-range’ sanctions, as Ukrainians say. Therefore, the right way forward is to put more pressure on Russia,” he stated.

A day earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a conversation with Kristen Michal.

The call took place two days after a Romanian fighter jet operating in Estonian airspace shot down a strike drone, believed to be Ukrainian, which had triggered an air alert in parts of the country. This marked the first instance of a drone being intercepted over Estonian territory.

Following the incident, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry issued an apology to Estonia for what it described as “unintentional incidents” involving drones.

By Tamilla Hasanova