A Romanian F-16 fighter jet operating as part of NATO's Baltic air policing mission shot down a drone over central Estonia on Tuesday, in what officials say is the latest incident in which Russian electronic jamming has diverted a Ukrainian long-range drone into alliance territory. Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur confirmed the drone was intercepted shortly after midday local time, with debris falling in a marshy area near the Võrtsjärv lake and the town of Põltsamaa. No casualties or structural damage were reported, though local residents said the wreckage landed approximately 30 metres from the nearest residential building.

Estonia had received early warning from Latvia that a drone had strayed off course, allowing its forces to track the projectile before Romanian jets brought it down. "We received early information from Latvia about a drone that had strayed off course, and Estonia tracked the drone until Romanian fighter jets participating in the Baltic air policing mission shot it down," the Estonian defence ministry said. Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi apologised to "Estonia and all of our Baltic friends" for the unintended incident, stating that the drones had been targeting legitimate military objectives inside Russia and accusing Moscow of deliberately redirecting them. "Russia continues to redirect Ukrainian drones into the Baltics — on purpose, together with intensified propaganda," Tykhyi said.

This incident is the latest in a growing series of drone incursions into the three Baltic states — Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — which occupy NATO's northeastern flank on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Earlier this month, two Ukrainian drones struck an empty oil storage facility in Latvia. The political fallout was severe: Latvia's defence minister resigned over accusations that national air defences were inadequate, and Prime Minister Evika Silina subsequently stepped down as well. A similar incursion was reported by both Estonia and Latvia in March. The shooting down on Tuesday marks what is believed to be the first time a Ukrainian drone has been actively intercepted and destroyed over NATO territory.

Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service claimed on Tuesday that Ukraine was planning to launch drone attacks against Russian targets from Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian territory, and warned of "just retribution." All three Baltic governments flatly denied the allegation. Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs called it a lie, and Ukraine's foreign ministry dismissed the claims as "Moscow's latest set of falsehoods." Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna argued the incidents were a deliberate Russian strategy: "This is a desperate move to divide the west and also put us under pressure to tell the Ukrainians to stop, because Ukraine is hitting their lifelines."

The episode underscores the mounting tension along NATO's eastern edge as Ukraine intensifies drone and missile strikes against Russian infrastructure, including energy facilities near the Baltic region. Estonian officials have asked Kyiv to route its drones as far from NATO territory as possible given the risks posed by electronic jamming. "If you're attacking Russian positions or Russian targets, then these trajectories have to be as far from NATO territory as possible," Pevkur said. The incident also reflects broader concern among the Baltic states that Moscow may be engineering provocations to test NATO's cohesion and response.