Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued a stern warning to the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over alleged intentions to allow Ukrainian drones to use their airspace for attacks on Russian territory, Russian officials said on Monday.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Russian state news outlets that Moscow had delivered a “special warning” to the three Baltic governments regarding reports that they could open their skies to Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles during strikes against Russian targets. She said if the Baltic states ignore the warning, they could face retaliatory measures.
Zakharova did not elaborate on what form any Russian response might take, but her comments reflect heightened tensions between Moscow and NATO‑aligned countries amid continued military conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian warning follows claims circulating in Russian media and Telegram channels since late March that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia had allowed Ukrainian military drones to pass through their airspace on missions targeting Russian Baltic Sea infrastructure. Moscow has linked these alleged overflights to a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, including those at Primorsk, where pipelines were reported damaged in an earlier strike.
However, Baltic officials have firmly denied Moscow’s accusations. Lithuania’s military dismissed Russian claims of an official decision to open airspace for Ukrainian strikes as a propaganda effort aimed at intimidation. Riga and Tallinn have similarly rejected the assertions as false information and lodged diplomatic protests with Moscow.
Estonian Interior Minister and Latvian Defence Ministry spokespeople have specifically said that no such permission was granted and have characterized the Russian statements as disinformation. The governments also stressed that drones that did stray into their airspace in recent weeks were most likely unintended navigation incidents rather than permitted flights.
The warning comes against the background of a notable rise in long‑range Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian energy infrastructure across the Baltic region. Some Ukrainian drones have crashed or veered into Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian territory in recent weeks, prompting heightened security alerts. Baltic defense officials have said these incursions are unintentional and stressed they are working with Kyiv and NATO partners to clarify circumstances.
Russia, for its part, has claimed its air defenses have intercepted multiple Ukrainian drones over its own territory, and at least one reported attack damaged a section of pipeline at the Primorsk port a strategic Russian export hub on the Baltic Sea.
Western security analysts and EU officials have reacted to Moscow’s statements with caution. European Commission representatives underscored that Article 5 collective defense obligations would come into play should hostilities extend to NATO members, and noted that Moscow’s threats risk raising tensions in the region.
Baltic governments have reiterated that they remain committed to NATO deterrence policies and will not be intimidated by external pressure. They continue to emphasize that any violations of their airspace are taken seriously and that they uphold strict air surveillance standards