The destroyed UAV was likely deployed by Kiev to target Russian territory, the Estonian defense minister has said
Published 19 May, 2026 11:10
| Updated 19 May, 2026 11:28
FILE HOTO: A Ukrainian soldier preparing a drone for launch. © Getty Images / Scott Peterson
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.”
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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.