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Air alert! NATO reports increased number of border violations by Ukrainian drones

Ukrainian officials apologized and said the drones were aimed at military targets in Russia but were diverted from their course by Russian electronic jamming

Май 21, 2026 20:17 52

Air alert! NATO reports increased number of border violations by Ukrainian drones  - 1

In recent months, Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian ports in the Baltic Sea used for energy exports in an attempt to hit Moscow's military budget, Sky News reports, quoted by Focus.

As the Ukrainian drones moved north, they passed the borders of NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland.

But the increasing airspace violations have led some Baltic ministers to criticize Ukraine for the violations, which also led to the fall of the Latvian government earlier this month.

Ukrainian officials apologized and said the drones were aimed at military targets in Russia but were diverted by course due to Russian electronic jamming.

The series of airspace violations has raised questions about the state of air defenses on NATO's eastern flank.

In recent months, Ukrainian drones have crashed into a power plant chimney in Estonia, hit empty fuel tanks in Latvia and been shot down by Romanian fighter jets based in Lithuania.

Following the incident in Estonia two days ago, the Estonian defense minister said he had asked Ukraine to send its drones "as far away from NATO territory as possible".

The Polish defense minister warned today that Ukraine "must be very precise" in the use of drones to avoid "Russian provocations".

The naval drones have also put Ukraine in a difficult position with Western allies.

In early May, fishermen found a drone loaded with explosives on the shores of the island of Lefkada - which Greece claims is Ukrainian, a claim that Kiev has officially denied - which has caused diplomatic tensions between Athens and Kiev.