Romania shoots down Ukrainian drone flying over Estonia
politico.eu • • world
Key Points:
- Three NATO countries collaborated to shoot down a Ukrainian drone that entered Estonian airspace on Tuesday, with a Romanian F-16 intercepting the drone under Latvian command as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission.
- Ukrainian drones, reportedly hijacked electronically by Russia, have recently threatened the Baltic states, contributing to political instability such as the collapse of the Latvian government after a drone crash in May.
- Estonia’s foreign minister and NATO officials emphasized that the successful shootdown demonstrates the effectiveness of NATO’s collective defense system.
- The Ukrainian foreign ministry apologized for the drone incursion, attributing it to Russian electronic warfare tactics including GPS spoofing and jamming.
- The drone incident coincides with Russia’s claim of intercepting over 70 Ukrainian drones amid ongoing conflict, following a recent wave of Ukrainian drone attacks that caused casualties in Moscow.