"The air alert has now been lifted (6:15 a.m. – ed.) and the immediate risk that a drone could crash somewhere in Estonia is low," Arold confirmed 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," Arold said.

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

Explaining the notification sent to people's phones around 6 a.m. announcing the end of the air threat, Arold said the likelihood that people in Estonia could immediately find themselves in a drone or missile danger zone had passed. According to him, children can safely be sent to school.

"At present, everyone can go about their daily routines; children, if they have prepared well, can go to school — this is not an excuse that drones were flying at night — and people can calmly go to work."

Arold explained that such attacks typically take place at night, as they are more difficult for the defending side — in this case, Russia — to repel. "If patterns emerge indicating that a threat may once again reach Estonia's borders, then unfortunately the danger will return and a corresponding alert will be issued," he added.

The air threat warning covered a large part of Estonia, which Arold said reflects its dynamic nature. "First, multiple different systems were moving and entered Estonia at various locations. Aerial objects do not remain stationary; they move from one place to another. There were more incidents than the three alerts, but an exact number cannot be given, as the official air picture is not public information."

On Monday evening, an air alert was also issued in Latvia due to an immediate threat there. Arold confirmed that drones and air defense missiles have also come down in other European countries neighboring Russia and Ukraine.

During the night, people in Estonia also heard NATO fighter jets taking off from Ämari Air Base. "What people heard was the whisper of freedom. These fighter jets are here to protect us, searching for these drones and, if necessary and possible, safely bringing them down, or, should a military aircraft from a hostile state enter this airspace, driving it away," Arold said.

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