Ukraine apologises over drone incidents in Estonia

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi has commented on the incident involving the downing of a drone over Estonia on Tuesday 19 May.

Tykhyi said that Russia continues to redirect Ukrainian drones towards the Baltic states by using electronic warfare systems.

"Moscow does this on purpose, together with intensified propaganda. We apologise to Estonia and all of our Baltic friends for such unintended incidents," Tykhyi wrote on X.

Tykhyi noted that Ukraine remains committed to close cooperation between relevant agencies in order to determine the circumstances of each incident and find ways to prevent similar cases in the future, including through the direct involvement of Ukrainian expert teams.

"We reiterate that – contrary to Russian propaganda claims – neither Estonia, nor Latvia, Lithuania, or Finland have ever allowed [Ukraine] to use their airspace for strikes against Russia. Furthermore, Ukraine has never requested such a use," he added.

The spokesperson also stated that Russia has no right to blame Ukraine, the Baltic states or Finland "for the consequences of its actions and, more broadly, its war of aggression".

On 19 May, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said that a fighter jet had for the first time shot down what was likely a stray Ukrainian strike drone over the country's territory after air-raid warnings were issued in part of the country.