NATO Fighters Shoot Down Drone Over Estonian Airspace

• 19.05.2026, 13:55

He may have been Ukrainian.

A drone has been destroyed in the skies above Estonia for the first time. Presumably, it was a Ukrainian attack drone that accidentally ended up in the country's airspace. The incident led to the declaration of an air alert in parts of the state.

The Estonian editorial board Delfi reported this, citing Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Pevkur said the drone was shot down by fighter jets patrolling the Baltic States' airspace as part of a NATO mission.

The incident occurred over Lake Võrtsjärv, located in central-southern Estonia - roughly midway between the country's eastern border with Russia and the coast of the Gulf of Riga.

This is the first confirmed case of such an aircraft being destroyed over Estonian territory. The reasons for the drone's appearance in the country's airspace have not been officially specified, but it is assumed that it may have deviated from its route.