Drones are falling in the Baltic states

“This is a new reality for the countries of the region. We are not fully protected against such incidents and must enhance our air defence capabilities,” said Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Kęstutis Budrys.

On the morning of March 25, a drone approaching from the Russian side struck the chimney of the Auvere power plant in northeastern Estonia. At the same time, another drone entered Latvian airspace from the Russian direction and crashed on land. At that time, Ukraine was conducting a drone strike on the Russian port of Ust-Luga—the largest on the Baltic Sea. In Lithuania’s case, the drone crashed and exploded in the Varėna region in the south of the country during the night from Monday to Tuesday. The unmanned aircraft had not been detected earlier by Lithuanian or Belarusian systems due to its low flight altitude.

It has now been confirmed that all crashed UAVs were Ukrainian strays. None of the countries intercepted the drones that entered their airspace. It can therefore be concluded that they were not prepared for this type of attack. As a result of these incidents, the Baltic states will increase their state of readiness. However, the Lithuanian minister’s statement remains true—this is indeed a “new reality” for the region. All three countries require strengthened air defence.