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 stated 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, identified the drone that hit the power plant as a Ukrainian drone that deviated from its course, possibly affected in Russian airspace.
Latvian Prime Minister Edgars Rinkevics confirmed the drone that hit Latvia was also Ukrainian, leading Defence Minister Andris Spruds to cut short a visit to Ukraine.
Egils Lescinskis, deputy chief of Latvia's Joint Staff, suggested the drone might have veered off course due to electromagnetic warfare measures protecting important technical objects. Drones can miss targets when jamming systems interfere with their GPS signal.
With ongoing military operations in neighbouring countries, local residents cannot feel completely safe, according to Lescinskis. Palloson warned that such incidents are likely to occur more frequently, attributing them to the effects of Russia's full-scale aggression.
A similar incident occurred in Lithuania earlier in the week, when a Ukrainian attack drone crashed near the Belarusian border. Lithuanian authorities confirmed this drone was part of operations against Russia.
Ust-Luga serves as a major oil export terminal, and its November 22 attack triggered a controllable fire, local authorities reported.
This incident follows multiple Ukrainian drone assaults on Russian energy sites, with nearly 400 drones launched toward various regions in a single night. Meanwhile, Russia has executed one of its most extensive attacks on Ukraine, involving 948 drones and causing casualties.
