Power plant hit

Russian drone strikes power plant in Estonia

A Ukrainian drone pilot during training(Bild: APA/AFP/OSCAR DEL POZO )

Contrary to initial reports, the two drones that crashed or exploded in Estonia and Latvia originated from Ukraine! Authorities recently stated that the drones were part of a larger Ukrainian attack on targets in Russia.

The drone struck “the chimney of the Auvere power plant,” according to a statement from the Estonian intelligence service ISS. There were no injuries or major damage in the incident at the Estonian Auvere power plant, which is located just two kilometers from the Russian border. According to Lithuanian reports, a Ukrainian drone had already crashed into a lake in the country on Monday.

Latvia: Intruding drone explodes in mid-air
In Latvia, a military spokesperson said on television that at 2:19 a.m. (local time), an unidentified flying object was detected by radar as it approached and flew over the Latvian border. About 20 minutes later, the drone reportedly exploded on its own near the village of Dobricina in the municipality of Kraslava—without any intervention by an alerted Air Force unit.

Earlier, at around 12:50 a.m. (local time), an object had already entered Latvian airspace from the Belarusian side, made a slight turn, and continued on into Russian airspace. The spokesperson assumed that in both cases, the unmanned aerial vehicles had veered off course or been misdirected by electronic countermeasures.

Ukrainian drones targeted Baltic Sea ports
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces attacked Russia with large swarms of drones, triggering several fires in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga. The Defense Ministry in Moscow reported 398 enemy long-range drones over many parts of Russia, which were allegedly intercepted. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, it was the most severe drone attack from Ukraine recorded to date.

This satellite image shows several burning fuel tanks in Primorsk.(Bild: AFP)

It followed a day on which Russia had launched not only missiles but also a record number of nearly 950 combat drones toward Ukraine. Two waves of attacks on Tuesday night and during the day resulted in deaths, injuries, and severe damage. In the western Ukrainian city of Lviv (Lemberg), historic buildings in the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were damaged. On Monday, Ukrainian drones hadattacked oil tanks in the Black Sea port of Primorsk.

“Air defense across NATO is a challenge”
“The war provoked by the aggressor Russia has brought us to this point where, within 48 hours, drones are falling on the territories of all three Baltic states,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas said on Wednesday. “It is obvious that air defense is a challenge not only in Lithuania but across the entire NATO alliance.” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated that the drone was not aimed at Estonia. “This is a concrete consequence of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression.” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics also confirmed that the drone that crashed in his country was Ukrainian

Frequent airspace violations by Russian drones
In the course of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been ongoing for more than four years, drones have repeatedly been spotted in the airspace of European NATO countries near airports and military facilities, including in Germany.

A Russian Geran-2 drone, which is frequently used for long-range attacks.(Bild: AFP/SERGEI SUPINSKY)

Russian drones or military aircraft have also repeatedly entered the airspace of Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania, among others.