The EDF said it had detected air activity outside Estonian airspace that could pose a threat to Estonia and issued a preventive alert.

"As a result of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, potentially dangerous air assets may enter Estonian airspace," a statement on the government's kriis.ee website said.

"This is not an exercise," it added.

Messages about "a potential new air threat" over eastern and southern Estonia were issued between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. and urged residents to take cover if they saw a drone.

The affected areas were Lääne-Viru, Ida-Viru, Jõgeva, Põlva, Tartu, Valga and Võru counties.

Just before 5 a.m. a new SMS message was sent about "a potential new air threat" in Rapla, Pärnu and Harju counties.

At 6 a.m. a new message from the EDF was sent by SMS, which said: "31:03 The air threat declared has passed, it is safe."

A message on the kriis.ee website said: "The alert has ended; there is currently no threat in Estonian airspace."

Latvian authorities also issued similar alerts on Monday evening. President Edgars Rinkevics shared a map on X and a message about a possible airspace threat.

A Finnair flight from Finland's capital Helsinki to Estonia's second largest city Tartu turned around over Põltsamaa after receiving the initial alert on Tuesday morning.

Iespējams APDRAUDĒJUMS GAISA TELPĀ! pic.twitter.com/0wErIYn2Ke

— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) March 30, 2026

EDF: Level of intensity not seen since 1944

Overnight, Ukraine continued attacking Russia's Baltic Sea coastal areas with drones and several that apparently went off course also entered Estonian airspace, EDF Col. Uku Arold told ERR on Tuesday morning.

The air threat arose because Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has spread across the entirety of Russian territory and for the ninth consecutive day, military activity has been ongoing in Estonia's neighboring Leningrad Oblast at a level of intensity not seen since 1944, Arold explained.

"Ukraine is targeting Russia's military infrastructure and the infrastructure sustaining the war and Russia is trying to repel these attacks, including by diverting Ukrainian drones using various means. It is highly likely that the drones involved here overnight were Ukrainian drones that went off course," he said.

"Several drones entered Estonia today and were detected both by radar systems and fighter jets," the EDF representative told ERR, adding in response to a follow-up question that no drones were shot down over Estonian territory.

Second alert in six days

This is the second time in a week that the EE-Alarm has been issued for drone sightings in Estonia.

Last Wednesday (March 25), Ukrainian drones entered Estonian airspace, with one hitting a chimney at Auvere Power Plant, less than 2 kilometers from the border with Russia.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has launched drone attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure and Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga, which is around 30 kilometers from the Estonian border, and Primorsk, across the Gulf of Finland.

Advice for sheltering

The Ole Valmis app's guidelines for sheltering are: "If you are inside a building, stay there. Move to the lowest floor, into a room with solid walls, away from windows (e.g. a basement or stairwell). Follow the "two-wall rule" — try to find a spot where there are at least two walls between you and the outside air."

EE-ALARM alerts

The alerts sent by the Ole Valmis (Be Prepared!) app and SMS messages are reposted below:

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This article was updated to say the threat had passed and add comments from the Estonian Defense Forces.

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