Ukrainian drones keep straying into Baltic and Finnish airspace after being diverted by Russian electronic warfare

Russia’s war against Ukraine has begun to affect Northern Europe directly. Ukrainian forces launch drones against Russian oil refineries in the St. Petersburg region almost daily, and those drones are increasingly appearing in the airspace of the Baltic states and Finland. Russian pro-war social media channels claim that these countries unofficially allow Ukraine to use their airspace for drone flights. There is no independent confirmation of that claim; moreover, Latvian authorities officially rejected the accusations. In Latvia, the drone incidents have already had political consequences: the government resigned. Below is a rundown of the most notable drone incidents in Northern Europe over the past two months.

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A drone came down near the village of Lavisos, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Belarusian border. No one was injured.

Prime Minister Inga Ruginene confirmed the following day that the drone had been Ukrainian. She said it was connected to a Ukrainian operation carried out that night against Russia.

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In the early hours of March 25, a Ukrainian drone struck a smokestack at the Auvere power plant in Estonia. In Latvia, a drone came down in the Kraslava district. In their official statements, authorities emphasized that the aircraft had entered from Russia. Officials stopped short of criticizing Ukraine.

Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said that serious fighting had taken place that night and that Ukrainians were repelling attacks on their country.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said it was important to stress that Estonia had not been the intended target. Based on the information available to him, he said, the drone was part of a Ukrainian counterattack against Russia whose consequences had reached Estonia’s border.

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Two drones came down in southeastern Finland. Authorities confirmed they were Ukrainian.

Ukraine issued a formal apology to Finland, saying the drones could not under any circumstances have been directed toward Finland. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said Russian electronic warfare systems had thrown them off course.

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Border guards found a drone on the ice of Lake Pyhajarvi near the Russian border. It was reported to be Ukrainian.

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Two Ukrainian drones entered Latvian territory; one struck an empty oil storage tank in Rezekne, a city near the Russian border.

Despite the drones being Ukrainian, Latvia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s chargé d’affaires a.i. Dmitry Kasatkin, citing the fact that the drones had entered from Russian territory. The diplomat was told that by continuing the war against Ukraine, Moscow was creating security risks across the entire region.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later said the drones had strayed into Latvia because Russian electronic warfare systems had deliberately diverted them from their targets on Russian territory.

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The incident plunged Latvia — four months from parliamentary elections — into a political crisis. The government came under fire after the drones penetrated deep into the country’s airspace unimpeded; Rezekne is nearly 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the Russian border. Defense Minister Andris Spruds resigned, saying he wanted to protect the Latvian military from being drawn into a political campaign.

Three days later, Prime Minister Evika Silina also resigned.

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Helsinki Airport halted operations for several hours because of a drone threat. Fighter jets were scrambled over the Gulf of Finland coast.

Authorities initially reported that at least one drone had violated Finnish airspace. The armed forces later said, however, that no airspace violations had occurred.