A suspected Ukrainian drone wreck was found in southern Estonia, Margo Palloson, head of the country’s intelligence service KAPO, told reporters on Tuesday.
“Based on preliminary information, we have reason to believe this may have been a Ukrainian drone targeting Russian positions, which Russia diverted off course using GPS jamming and other electronic means, causing it to end up in Estonia,” he said, adding it may have entered the country's airspace from Russian or Latvian territory.
The wreck and a crater caused by an explosion were initially found by a farmer on Monday near Lake Võrtsjärv in Tartu County, Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR reported on Tuesday. Estonian officials said the drone crashed around 75 kilometres from the Russian border on Sunday morning at around 04:00–05:00.
Estonian officials blamed Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine as the reason for the drone ending up in the Baltic country.
“Russia has long used GPS jamming and other EW tactics to disrupt regional air and sea traffic. Estonia will respond by developing a multi-layered air defence system, including a drone barrier,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on X on Tuesday.
Drones used by Russia have previously crashed in Lithuania, as well as in other countries neighbouring Russia and Ukraine, including Romania, Moldova, Poland, and Latvia.
Last week, the Polish defence minister condemned what he called a Russian provocation against Warsaw and NATO after a Russian drone crashed and exploded in a field in eastern Poland. No casualties were reported.
In November 2022, two civilians were killed when a Ukrainian air defence missile crashed in the Polish village of Przewodów near the border.
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