Residents in several regions of Latvia and Estonia were warned of potential drone threats in the early hours of Sunday, May 3.
The Estonian Ministry of Internal Affairs issued alerts to the Virumaa and Ida-Virumaa counties around 3:00 a.m. local time, explicitly linking the precaution to Russia’s ongoing military actions against Ukraine.
Estonian defense forces later canceled the alarm at 5:30 a.m., confirming no immediate threats were present in their airspace.
In Latvia, similar warnings were sent to the cities of Aluksne, Balvi, Ludze, Rezekne, and Kraslava around 4:00 a.m..
The Latvian National Armed Forces stated that they remain in constant coordination with NATO allies to monitor the skies, noting that as long as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, foreign unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may repeatedly approach or enter Latvian territory.
Simultaneously, Finland’s Ministry of Defense reported that an unidentified drone violated Finnish airspace near the municipality of Virolahti, which borders Russia’s Leningrad region. While the drone’s origin has not been established, the Finnish Border Guard has launched a formal investigation.
This incident, the fifth of its kind in Finland, prompted the military to establish a temporary restricted aviation zone over the waters near the ports of Kotka and Hamina between 1:57 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. to ensure better situational awareness.
These regional tensions coincide with a massive Russian air assault on Ukraine involving 268 drones and ballistic missiles. While Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 249 targets, several strikes reached civilian and infrastructure sites across the country.
Recent reports include a strike in the Dnipropetrovsk region that injured six people, including a pregnant woman and a 10-year-old boy who is in a moderate condition. Additionally, strikes in Odesa killed two people, and a drone attack in the Sumy region left a police officer in a critical condition.