Estonia and Latvia say Russian drones hit their NATO territory amid huge attack on Ukraine

Kyiv — NATO members Estonia and Latvia said Russian drones entered their territory Wednesday morning on the heels of one of Russia’s biggest daytime drone attacks on Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his country’s full-scale invasion four years ago.

Estonia’s Internal Security Service said a drone entered the country from Russia and slammed into the chimney of a power station, hours after while Latvia’s armed forces reported a Russian drone crashing onto the country’s territory without causing any damage.

Russian drones and even fighter jets have entered NATO airspace increasingly throughout the war. Members of the transatlantic defense alliance reported 18 airspace violations by Russian aircraft during 2025, three times more than in 2024. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the incursions an escalation of Russia’s war, which he has always argued is against all of Europe, and he’s urged his European partners to strengthen their own air defenses.

The latest drone incursions came hours after one of Russia’s largest-scale aerial assaults on Ukraine since the war began. Starting Monday evening, Russia launched nearly 1,000 drones at Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. More than 550 drones were launched Tuesday afternoon alone, primarily targeting Ukraine’s western regions, near its borders with NATO member states.

A video clip aired by Ukraine’s public broadcaster on Tuesday showed an Iranian-made Shahed drone, a weapon Russia has used heavily throughout the war, slamming into a building next to a church in the historic center of Lviv, only about 40 miles from the Polish border. 

City officials said a second drone struck a residential building in Lviv, wounding 22 people. In nearby Ivano-Frankivsk, a maternity hospital was damaged.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha drew a parallel between the Russian attacks and those being carried out by Russia’s ally Iran against civilian infrastructure across the Persian Gulf. 

“Russia is doing exactly what the Iranian regime is doing in the Middle East, but in the middle of Europe. Russia proves its status of a terrorist state,” Sybiha said in a social media post. “And this is how it must be dealt with — through strength, not weakness, and increased pressure on all fronts.”

In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia had been emboldened by the Trump administration’s recent relaxing of oil sanctions, and he stressed his long-held view that Putin’s increasing aggression is a threat to countries beyond Ukraine.

“Pressure is clearly lacking right now. On the contrary, there are signals encouraging Russia to continue what they have been doing for years, only increasing their aggressiveness,” Zelenskyy said. “This is dangerous for everyone.”