Estonia's Ministry of Defense announced that the country's air defense forces intercepted and destroyed a drone over southern Estonia — the first time Estonia has independently shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that entered its airspace, Delfi reports.
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed the drone was downed over Lake Võrtsjärv. "For the first time, we ourselves shot down a drone," Pevkur stated. The drone's origin is under investigation, though the minister indicated it was likely Ukrainian, reportedly en route to strike targets on Russian territory.
Baltic Drone Incidents
Estonia's intercept follows a series of drone incursions across the Baltic states in late March.
On 23 March, a drone — likely originating from Belarus — flew into Lithuania and exploded on Lake Lavišas, more than 20 kilometers from the border. Lithuanian radars did not detect it. Lithuania's Ministry of Defense suggested the device was a Ukrainian drone that had deviated from its course due to electronic warfare interference while targeting Russian territory. Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė later confirmed it was a Ukrainian drone, apparently one of several targeting Primorsk near St. Petersburg.
Two days later, on 25 March, an unidentified drone flew in from Russia and fell and exploded in Latvia, where it was detected by Latvian military. The same night in Estonia, a drone knocked off course struck a smokestack at a power plant in Auvere.
Pevkur addressed the pattern directly, stating that the drone incidents across the Baltic states are connected to Russia's war against Ukraine and are not Kyiv's fault, noting the incidents occurred against the backdrop of attacks on Russian ports.
