Estonianand Latvian authorities reported Tuesday that they detected foreign drone activity near their borders withRussia, in incidents that occurred during the night that are once again raising concern on the eastern flank of NATO.
The
Estonian defense forces said in a statement that they identified “potentially dangerous air activity” both inside and outside their airspace. Faced with the situation, they issued a preventive threat notification, which was later lifted on the grounds that the risk had passed
.
As military spokesman Uku Arold explained, it is “highly probable” that the devices detected were Ukrainian drones that deviated from their original trajectory. In this context, remains of at least one of these devices were found in Tartu County, while authorities investigate possible additional findings
.
In parallel, the Latvian armed forces reported that they detected an unmanned aerial vehicle near its border with Russia late on Monday. However, they clarified that the drone failed to enter Latvian airspace, which prevented a
major escalation. The spokesman for the Estonian armed forces mentioned that the aircraft could be diverted Ukrainian drones
These episodes come amid an intensification of Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, especially refineries and export routes close to the Gulf of Finland. According to the Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo, more than 2,500 drones have been launched against Russian oil ports in recent weeks, with the aim of weakening Moscow's war economy
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The impact of these operations has also been felt in Finnish territory. On Sunday, a drone crashed in the country, in what constitutes the first incident of its kind related to the war on Finnish soil. According to the police, the device apparently carried an unexploded warhead
.
In response, both the Finnish defense forces and the border guard have increased their alert levels. The commander of the Air Force, Timo Herranen, indicated that fighter planes were kept in the air for much of the night due to the possibility of a larger-scale operation
. In recent days, a series of drones have also entered Finnish territory, forcing the armed forces of the Baltic countries to increase the alert level.
Despite the increase in military activity in the region, the Finnish government stressed that there is no evidence of a direct threat against the country. However, recent incidents highlight the growing risk that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will generate collateral effects on neighboring territories
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The succession of these events reinforces concern in the Baltic countries and in NATO, which continue to closely monitor the situation as they seek to prevent further escalation in the region.
