NATO fighter jets intercepted Ukrainian UAVs that had infiltrated its territory.

A NATO F-16 fighter jet was scrambled to shoot down a Ukrainian drone that had entered Estonian territory. Kyiv subsequently blamed Russia for the incident.

Reuters, citing a May 19 statement from the Estonian military, confirmed that a Ukrainian drone had moved from Russian territory into the southeastern airspace of the Baltic nation. The drone was subsequently shot down by a Romanian F-16 fighter jet conducting training flights with a missile.

An F-16 fighter jet fires a missile during a training exercise. Photo: GettyImages

The F-16 fighter jet involved in the incident was deployed by Romania to Lithuania to participate in NATO's Baltic air patrol mission. "The incident occurred in the context of Russia carrying out high-intensity electronic warfare measures, including GPS jamming," the Estonian military announced.

According to the Estonian military, the UAV was closely monitored "before entering the airspace." The type of UAV involved and the amount of explosives it was carrying are unclear. The decision to shoot it down was made to "minimize the risk to civilians and infrastructure."

On the same day, NATO confirmed that a Romanian fighter jet had shot down a UAV over Estonian airspace. NATO stated that an investigation was underway and that the alliance was "ready and able to respond to any potential aerial threat."

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi called the incident an "unintentional accident" and apologized to Estonia and the Baltic states. Kyiv also insisted that its UAV was diverted toward the Baltic states due to Russian electronic warfare measures.

Ukraine has recently intensified its long-range UAV attacks against Russia, including targets near the Baltic borders. However, Ukrainian UAVs have been reported to have strayed into the airspace of NATO countries bordering Russia on several occasions, including Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.

Last week, Russian intelligence said it had detected Ukrainian plans to carry out drone attacks against Russia via the territories of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. However, the Baltic states subsequently denied the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use their airspace to attack Russia.

Diem Quyen

Source: https://cand.vn/tiem-kich-nato-danh-chan-uav-ukraine-xam-nhap-lanh-tho-post811412.html