NATO fighter jet shoots down drone over Estonia during Baltic alert
F-16 fighter jet (photo: Getty Images)
A NATO fighter jet patrolling the airspace in the Baltic region shot down a drone over Estonia, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed, reports Delfi and ERR.
A drone was shot down over Lake Võrtsjärv in southern Estonia. According to Pevkur, it was most likely a Ukrainian drone that went off course due to system jamming.
This version was also separately confirmed by the head of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, Marko Mihkelson.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal commented on this information before the Estonian parliament, stating that the downing of a drone shows that "we can probably still handle the situation."
No civilian casualties or material damage were reported.
What preceded this
Around noon local time, Estonia and Latvia declared a drone alert over part of their territory.
Latvia confirmed an alert in the final minutes. It was reported that language exams and railway traffic were interrupted as a result of a warning.
It is noted that several Baltic and Scandinavian NATO member countries have reported drone incursions in recent months as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues.
On May 17, Latvia warned about a possible threat in the country's airspace in several areas bordering Russia due to the appearance of an unidentified drone in the sky.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated that NATO has the means to flatten Russian air defense bases and missile bases located in Kaliningrad.
