Latvia's Prime Minister Evika Silina says an investigation is under way into the drone that crashed in the country's Kraslava region [File: Ints Kalnins/Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff and AFPPublished On 25 Mar 202625 Mar 2026
Estonia and Latvia have both reported drones entering their airspace from neighbouring Russia, fuelling concerns about regional spillover from the Ukraine war.
Estonia’s Internal Security Service said on Wednesday that a drone flying in from Russian airspace struck the chimney of a power station in the northeastern village of Auvere. The incident caused no casualties, it said.
The country’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said the drone was “not directed at Estonia”, but called the incursion “a concrete consequence of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression”.
On the same day, the Latvian Air Force said it identified an unmanned aerial vehicle that also entered its airspace from Russia and crashed in the southeastern Kraslava region, without causing casualties or damaging civilian infrastructure.
Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Silina said there were indications the drone may be Ukrainian and that an investigation was under way. The country’s Defence Minister Andris Spruds, who was in Ukraine on a working visit, said he would cut his trip short and return home due to the incident.
Ukraine had carried out several overnight strikes against Russia, including targeting its major northwestern port of Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland. Both Latvia and Estonia sit along a possible trajectory for drones targeting the region, not far from Saint Petersburg.
Drones have repeatedly breached the airspace of European countries during the Ukraine war, sparking discussions in the European Union about building a possible “drone wall” to shield its eastern flank from Russian violations.
Last week, Estonian authorities said a Russian fighter jet violated its northern airspace for the first time this year and summoned the Russian charge d’affaires.
Latvia and Estonia are both staunch allies of Ukraine and members of the “coalition of the willing” that have stepped up support for Kyiv during the war.
