Tuesday, 02 January 2024 12:17 GMT

NATO Jet Downs Suspected Ukrainian Drone Entering Estonian Airspace


(MENAFN) A Romanian fighter jet operating under NATO's air policing mission shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone that violated Estonian airspace, Estonia's defense minister announced Tuesday.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed to a public broadcaster that the drone was intercepted over Lake Vortsjarv. Intelligence sharing between Baltic allies proved critical to the swift response.

"We received advance information from our Latvian colleagues, and our radar also detected a drone moving into southern Estonia. We activated the necessary measures, and a Baltic Air Policing fighter jet shot the drone down," Pevkur said.

The intercepting aircraft was deployed from Siauliai, Lithuania, as part of NATO's ongoing regional air surveillance mission. Pevkur indicated the situation has since stabilized, with no further unauthorized aerial intrusions detected in Estonian airspace.

Marko Mihkelson, chair of the Estonian Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, pointed to Russian jamming technology as the likely cause of the navigational failure.

"It was most likely a Ukrainian drone that had veered off course due to Russian electronic interference," said Mihkelson.

Diplomatically, Pevkur disclosed that Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov personally reached out to apologize over the incident during a direct phone call, signaling Kyiv's acknowledgment of the unintended airspace breach.

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