Baltarusian opposition figure calls drone flights in Baltics a deliberate attempt to destabilise EU

The recent drone incursions into Baltic airspace are part of a deliberate effort by Moscow and Minsk to destabilise the European Union, Pavel Latuška, a representative of the Belarusian opposition, told BNS in an interview.

“These are not random drones—these are targeted actions aimed at destabilising the situation in the EU,” Latuška said. “We must understand that the strategic goal of Russia and [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime is to destabilise the EU and, in the long term, to dismantle the Union as a unified entity.”

This week, parts of Lithuania declared airspace alerts twice due to suspected drone incursions. Similar reports have emerged in recent days from residents in eastern Latvia.

Latuška, who heads the Belarusian United Transitional Cabinet, urged sustained and increased pressure on Minsk, including maintaining EU sanctions on Belarusian fertilisers. He argued that Lukashenko only responds to force, speaking during a closed meeting of Lithuania’s Social Democratic Party faction, where discussions included U.S. pressure regarding the transit of Belarusian fertilisers.

“These funds will be used for Belarus’s militarisation, supporting aggression against Ukraine, and repression within Belarus,” Latuška said.

His comments follow joint Russian-Belarusian nuclear exercises this week, during which Lukashenko announced the fulfilment of his long-standing ambition to host Russian Iskander missile systems in Belarus. Latuška criticised Lukashenko’s nuclear ambitions, calling him a “useful idiot in Putin’s hands,” risking the lives of millions of Belarusians without real control over any potential nuclear arsenal on Belarusian soil.

“Lukashenko has long dreamed of returning nuclear weapons to Belarus,” Latuška said. “He believes their presence guarantees his rule for life. But in reality, he is a nuclear blackmailer—a Medvedev 2.0—who poses a threat to his own people.”

Latuška also addressed Ukraine’s recent reinforcement of defences near its border with Belarus, following weeks of warnings about a possible new attack from Belarusian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that Kyiv is preparing responses to all potential enemy actions.

“Belarus has never been as prepared for war as it is now,” Latuška said. “Over the past four years, Lukashenko has quadrupled the military budget.”