Politics Estonia's Defense Minister: NATO fighter jets shoot down drone
NATO fighter jets have shot down a drone over Estonia that had entered the airspace of the Baltic EU and NATO country.
19.05.2026, 13:27
19.05.2026, 14:58
SDA
According to Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, this is the first time a drone of this kind has been shot down. Romanian F-16 jets took the drone out of the sky over Lake Võrtsjärv in the south of the country. It crashed in a swampy area and the search is still ongoing. The Estonian security police are leading the investigation.
According to Pevkur, it was probably a Ukrainian flying object that was presumably aimed at Russian targets. There were initially no reports of casualties or damage. According to Estonian Brigadier General Riivo Valge, the drone was sighted visually before it was shot down and hit with the first missile.
Estonia borders Russia to the east. The armed forces had previously issued warnings about a possible threat to the south of the Baltic state. In neighboring Latvia, the population of several regions near the border with Russia was also warned. According to the army, a drone most likely crossed Latvian airspace. Whether it was the same flying object that was shot down over Estonia remained unclear at first.
Estonia's foreign minister: Nato works
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania do not have their own fighter jets. Nato has therefore been securing the Baltic airspace since 2004. To this end, the allies regularly deploy fighter jets and personnel to the Baltic states in north-eastern Europe. The Romanian aircraft are stationed at the Lithuanian air force base in Siauliai.
"The shooting down of a drone that had penetrated Estonian airspace proves one thing very clearly: NATO works," wrote Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on Platform X. The quick reaction shows that the allies stand together and are ready to defend every inch of NATO territory.
According to a report by Estonian radio, the north-western region of Russia was repeatedly hit by drone attacks in the morning. In recent Ukrainian attacks, misguided drones had repeatedly penetrated the airspace of the Baltic states and in some cases crashed, with which Kiev had attacked targets in north-western Russia.
Tsakhna emphasized that Estonia was not the target of the drone attack and blamed Russia for the latest drone incidents. "These incidents are a direct result of Russia's war," he wrote.
Ukraine apologizes
Ukraine asked the Baltic states to apologize for such "unintentional incidents", according to the Foreign Ministry in Kiev. It put forward the theory that the drones were diverted by Russian jammers: "Russia continues to direct Ukrainian drones into the Baltic States using electronic warfare means. And Moscow is doing this deliberately, together with intensified propaganda," it said.
Pevkur reiterated that Estonia had not allowed anyone other than its allies to use its airspace and that Ukraine had not requested this either. Moscow had previously repeatedly accused Estonia - as well as Latvia and Lithuania - of making its airspace available to Ukraine.
