EU says Russian accusations of "aggression" by Baltic states and Finland are groundless

Anitta Hipper, the European Commission's Lead Spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has said that claims by Russian officials, including Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu, that the Baltic states and Finland helped organise flights of Ukrainian drones for subsequent attacks on Russian territory are "groundless".

"I would also like to point to the statements that we've also seen where precisely these member states are clearly rejecting this groundless assertion. So there is no evidence to support these claims from what we have seen," Hipper said.

Hipper added that "it is very clear that such statements are part of Russia's textbook of [dis]information".

"It's also creating pretexts for escalation and also undermining regional security. Nothing new," she added.

Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Russia's Security Council, claimed earlier that Finland and the Baltic states are "open accomplices in aggression against Russia" that allegedly help Ukrainian drones reach Russian territory via their airspace.

Russian propagandists have been actively spreading the claim that the Baltic states and Poland allegedly allowed Ukraine to use their airspace for strikes on Russian ports around St Petersburg, while Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had "issued a warning" to the Baltic states.

Russia's Defence Ministry has published a list of what it said are addresses in Europe linked to joint drone production with Ukraine, hinting at possible retaliation.