The Estonian military announced that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), believed to be Ukrainian, entered the nation's airspace around noon on 19/5 and traveled to the country's southeastern region. A Romanian F-16 fighter jet, engaged in a training flight, shot down the UAV with one missile.

This F-16 fighter jet is deployed by Romania in Lithuania as part of NATO's Baltic air policing mission.

The Estonian military stated that the incident occurred amid Russia's intense electronic warfare measures, including GPS jamming and signal spoofing.

The force added that the UAV was monitored before entering Estonian airspace, and the decision to shoot it down was made to "minimize impact on civilians and infrastructure."

A Romanian F-16 fighter flying in Spain in 2024. Photo: AFP

NATO confirmed that a Romanian fighter shot down the UAV over Estonian airspace. The alliance stated an investigation is underway, adding that the bloc is "ready and able to respond to any potential aerial threats."

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said he contacted his Ukrainian counterpart Mykhailo Fedorov, who "apologized" after the incident.

Commenting on the UAV being shot down over Estonia, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi accused Russia of continuing to divert Ukrainian UAVs towards Baltic countries through electronic warfare measures.

"We apologize to Estonia and all friendly Baltic nations for such unintended incidents," he stated.

According to AFP news agency, this marks the first time a foreign UAV has been intercepted by NATO in the airspace of a Baltic nation since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in early 2022.

Location of Russia, Estonia, and Latvia. Graphic: BBC

Ukraine has increased its long-range UAV attacks targeting Russia, including areas near the Baltic region. Since March, several Ukrainian military UAVs have strayed into the airspace of NATO countries bordering Russia, including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Pham Giang (According to Reuters, AFP)