Lithuania issued an air alert on Wednesday after a stray drone was detected close to the country’s border with Belarus, with NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission activated as a result.
The incident came after two Ukrainian drones, intended for Russia, came down over an empty oil storage facility in Latvia earlier this month — sparking a crisis that has led to the collapse of the governing coalition. A NATO jet shot down a drone in Estonian airspace last week.
“Russia’s public threats against our Baltic States are completely unacceptable,” von der Leyen said in a message posted on social media last week. “Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people on our Eastern flank. Europe will respond with unity and strength.”
The three Baltic countries have warned that Moscow is seeking to capitalize on the incidents to drive a wedge between Ukraine and its EU allies — issuing a joint statement in which they rejected “Russia’s blatant disinformation campaign and its fabricated accusations following the airspace violations, which Russia shamelessly uses to mask its military failures.”
The EU in February launched a plan to reinforce its frontline states amid concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine and hybrid tactics risk damaging local economies. The European Commission is also working on plans to help countries bolster their air defense capabilities with joint procurement and development schemes.
Jacopo Barigazzi contributed reporting.