Zelenskyy Meets Nordic-Baltic Leaders in Estonia Amid Concerns Over Stray Ukrainian Drones

TALLINN: Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Nordic and Baltic leaders in Estonia on Tuesday during a regional summit, as concerns grow over Ukrainian drones that have inadvertently entered the airspace of several countries in the region in recent months.

The summit was held in the Estonian capital of Tallinn amid Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year. Estonia, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the NB8, hosted the gathering of the bloc’s leaders, including prime ministers from the five Nordic and three Baltic nations.

Recent incidents involving Ukrainian drones have raised security concerns across the region. According to reports, drones have crashed into the chimney of a power plant in Estonia, struck empty fuel tanks in Latvia, and been intercepted by Romanian fighter jets deployed in Lithuania.

Ukrainian officials have apologized for the incidents, explaining that the drones were intended to target military sites inside Russia but were diverted from their intended routes due to Russian electronic interference.

During the visit, President Zelenskyy and Estonian President Alar Karis agreed to strengthen cooperation on developing more cost-effective methods of countering drones that enter Estonian airspace. The discussions followed a May incident in which a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone over southern Estonia.

The meeting underscored continued regional support for Ukraine while highlighting the growing security challenges posed by the increasing use of drones in the conflict and their unintended impact on neighboring countries.