Estonia denies authorizing Ukrainian drones to use its airspace for attacks on Russia.
As Russia and Ukraine exchange middle and long-range missile and drone strikes, we have been following here on TGP the disturbing trend that sees stray breaches of the airspace of Baltic nations.
Today (19), we learn that a Romanian NATO military jet shot down a stray Ukrainian drone over Estonia, the latest airspace violation amid relentless Ukrainian attacks on Russia.
⚡️ BREAKING: Estonia has for the first time shot down a drone that entered its airspace
The military also sent SMS alerts to the public warning of a possible aerial threat.
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said it could have been a Ukrainian-made kamikaze drone that was heading… pic.twitter.com/1uXeICJzon
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 19, 2026
Reuters reported:
“Nearby Latvia also issued an air threat alert after a drone entered Latvian airspace on Tuesday, telling residents near the Russian border to stay indoors, with NATO Baltic Air Police jets summoned to the area.
Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone attacks on Russia, including around the Baltic. Since March, several Ukrainian military drones have strayed into the airspace of NATO members Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which all border Russia.”
NATO jet shoots down intruding drone over a lake in Estonia — the first confirmed such incident in Estonian airspace
‘It was most likely a Ukrainian drone’ — Chair of Estonian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Cmte pic.twitter.com/ODTWuZn2r4
— RT (@RT_com) May 19, 2026
To give an idea of just how dangerous this situation has become, the prime minister and the whole Latvian government resigned last week over their handling of the Kiev drone incursions.
“It was shot down by a Romanian NATO fighter jet on a training flight at 12:14 local time (0914 GMT), with a single missile.
‘The incident occurred under the conditions of heavy electronic warfare, including GPS spoofing and jamming, by
NATO has confirmed that a Romanian jet shot down the drone over Estonian airspace and said that ‘an investigation was ongoing’.
Thank you to our allies Romania and Latvia – together we keep our skies safe. We received early info from Latvia about a stray drone, and Estonia tracked the drone until Romanian Baltic Air Policing jets shot it down. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/NzojCoUqbs
— MoD Estonia (@MoD_Estonia) May 19, 2026
RT reported:
“Estonia did not give Ukraine permission to use its airspace.
Defense chief Hanno Pevkur spoke with Ukraine’s Defense Minister immediately after drone was shot down over Estonia.
He clarified that it wasn’t allowed for Ukraine to use Estonian airspace to carry out attacks.”
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