Herem says Ukrainian drones briefly entered Estonian airspace

Ukrainian drones targeting Russia’s Ust-Luga port briefly entered Estonian airspace from both the southeast and northeast on Wednesday night, Estonia’s Defence Minister Martin Herem told ERR. He said NATO aircraft were in the air during the incident, but did not shoot down the drones.

Herem said the attack on the Ust-Luga area lasted from around midnight until about 6am. Most of the drones flew close to Estonia’s border but remained in Russian airspace. At about 3.30am, one drone entered Estonian airspace briefly from the direction of Latvia and then flew towards Russia. Some drones that had reached Ust-Luga turned west and circled over the Gulf of Finland in Russian airspace; some briefly entered Estonian airspace over the gulf.

At about 5.30am, an explosion occurred aboard a Russian Baltic Fleet ship in the Gulf of Finland, after which smoke was seen coming from the vessel. The ship then headed back towards St Petersburg. Herem said Estonia could not confirm whether the explosion was caused by an attack or an accident, or whether anyone was injured or killed.

NATO air-policing aircraft from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were airborne during the incident. Herem said Turkish fighter jets protecting Estonian airspace were already in the air before any drone entered it. The drones were not in a sufficiently safe position to be shot down, he said, as doing so could have meant firing into Russian territory.

Herem said Estonia had not allowed any foreign country to use its airspace for drones and had passed information to Ukraine, including a request for clarification. He said Russia had not contacted Estonia about the incident.