Ukraine should select targets for strikes on Russian territory more precisely to avoid creating threats to NATO countries' security, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a media briefing in Warsaw on 20 May 2026, Ukrinform reported.
The statement followed several incidents in which Ukrainian drones entered the airspace of Baltic NATO members, including an Estonian air-defense shootdown over Lake Võrtsjärv on 19 May 2026 and an air alert in Lithuania on 20 May 2026 that sent the country's senior leadership into shelters.
What Kosiniak-Kamysz said in Warsaw
"Undoubtedly, Ukraine must — and the military and NATO also speak about this — define targets much more precisely, so as not to create a threat to the security of Alliance countries," Kosiniak-Kamysz said in response to a journalist's question on incidents of Ukrainian drones violating Baltic airspace.
He said imprecise targeting could "serve Russian provocations and be used by the Russian Federation for propaganda, as well as for escalation of the conflict and intensification of hybrid warfare." Therefore Ukraine had to be very careful: while understanding its tactical goals in the war it was waging, it had to protect NATO territory, he added.
Recent drone incidents in Baltic airspace
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said on 19 May 2026 that a drone had entered Estonia's airspace and was shot down by Baltic air defense over Lake Võrtsjärv, Ukrinform reported. According to Pevkur, the drone was likely of Ukrainian origin and was heading toward targets in Russia; the Estonian Air Force and Internal Security Service are working to establish more precise details.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine had apologized to Estonia for the unintentional drone incident, which Kyiv attributed to Russian electronic warfare, Ukrinform reported.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys earlier said that Russia is deliberately directing Ukrainian drones to the Baltic states while simultaneously running a slander campaign against them, Ukrinform reported. On 20 May 2026, Lithuania's senior leadership was instructed to go to shelters after an air alert over suspected drone activity near the country's airspace, Ukrinform reported.
