Ukraine plans to send its experts to the Baltic states to strengthen air security and has contacted the Estonian embassy on the issue.
ERR reported on this.
The exact scope of the initiative is still being clarified, but the Estonian side expects Ukraine to primarily strengthen control over drone operations.
On Saturday morning, residents of Latvia were also warned of a possible air threat, just days after two drones crashed and an oil storage facility was damaged.
In the context of these incidents, Ukraine is considering sending security experts to the Baltic states.
Contact has already been made with the Estonian embassy in Ukraine, although without the involvement of the Estonian Armed Forces or the Ministry of Defense.
“Of course, all this needs to be clarified and explained, what exactly this means, what they had in mind. We will start working on this immediately. Of course, the easiest way for the Ukrainians to keep their drones away from our territory is to better control their activities,” said Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.
Ukraine has the right to self-defense and to strike Russian targets, however, according to Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, the Estonian government is concerned about the risk of serious incidents.
He said measures to reduce risks have already been discussed with the Ukrainian side, but it must be taken into account that Ukrainian drones are operating near Baltic borders for a reason.
“If we talk about the immediate proximity to NATO borders, then if Russia uses a missile system or something similar that can reach NATO territory, then Russia is actually afraid of NATO and in such a case simply does not want an escalation of the military conflict. However, this is again dangerous from the other side, that Russia can take control of Ukrainian drones and send them to us already aimed somewhere where, for example, there are human casualties,” Tsahkna said.
The defense ministers of Estonia and Ukraine last spoke a week ago after an incident in which one drone briefly entered Estonian airspace.
According to Pevkur, the parties have reviewed all previously proposed security measures, including the possibility of installing a kill switch system in case a drone loses course.
