NATO country shoots down alleged Ukrainian drone
Estonia has shot down an alleged Ukrainian drone over its territory for the first time, the NATO and EU member state’s defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, has said.
Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of incidents related to Ukrainian UAVs targeting northwestern Russia, particularly energy facilities in Leningrad Region. Some of the aircraft eventually crashed in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland.
Moscow has warned that if it turns out that the Baltic States and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” to Kiev’s UAVs, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Pevkur told the outlet Delfi on Tuesday that “this is the first time we have shot down a drone ourselves.”
The downed UAV had been deployed by Kiev to target Russian territory, the minister claimed.
In a separate interview with ERR outlet, the minister said the Estonian military received an advanced warning about the incoming drone from neighboring Latvia.
“We activated the necessary measures, and a Baltic Air Policing fighter jet shot the drone down” over Lake Vortsjarv in the southern part of the country, he explained.
Baltic Air Policing is a NATO mission to guard the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
There is yet no information about possible injuries or damage stemming from the incident, Pevkur said. Various Estonian agencies are on their way to the site where the debris of the drone fell, he added.
On Tuesday, temporary flight restrictions were introduced at Pulkovo Airport in Russia’s second largest city, St. Petersburg, due to drone incursions.
Earlier this month, Pevkur said that Kiev should stop using Estonian airspace for UAV attacks on Russia.
“The easiest way for the Ukrainians to keep their drones away from our territory is to control their activities better,” the minister suggested.
Tallinn “will start dealing with this very quickly now,” he said of the drone incursions.
Earlier on Tuesday, Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) revealed that, according to its data, Latvia has given Ukraine permission to use its territory for potential drone attacks against Russia.
The SVR warned that “the coordinates of decision-making centers on Latvian territory are well known, and the country’s NATO membership will not protect the accomplices of terrorists from just retribution.”
