NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made their remarks in support of all three Baltic states following a week of drone incursions into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Russia has accused the three NATO and EU members of facilitating Ukrainian drone strikes on its facilities in the St. Petersburg region and elsewhere, threatening repercussions if this continues.

Canada, too, has backed Estonia in statements made during an official visit of its Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand to Tallinn this week. Anand addressed the issue at a press conference Wednesday, where she was joined by her Estonia, Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts.

Russia's accusations that the Baltic states have opened their airspace to Ukrainian drones for attacks on Russia are "ridiculous," Rutte said Wednesday.

Rutte added the alliance had demonstrated on Tuesday in Estonian airspace — after a Romanian fighter jet shot down a Ukrainian drone that had entered the area — a "calm, decisive and proportionate" response.

"If drones come from Ukraine, they are not there because Ukraine wanted to send a drone to Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia. They are there because of the reckless, illegal full-scale attack by Russia," Rutte told reporters in ‌Brussels.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen also voiced support for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

"Russia's public threats against our Baltic States are completely unacceptable," the European Commission President wrote on her social media account, adding: "Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people on our Eastern flank."

"We will continue reinforcing the security of our Eastern flank with strong collective defense and preparedness at every level," von der Leyen continued.

Russia's public threats against our Baltic States are completely unacceptable.

Let there be no doubt.

A threat against one Member State is a threat against our entire Union.

Russia and Belarus bear direct responsibility for drones endangering the lives and security of people…

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 20, 2026

Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) thanked von der Leyen for her "clear and strong message of European unity."

Thank you, @vonderleyen, for your clear and strong message of European unity: a threat against one EU Member State is a threat against us all.

Let it be clear: Estonia has not opened its airspace for the purpose of carrying out attacks, and claims of this kind are simply lies.… https://t.co/kzxAlbFHAL

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) May 20, 2026

Wednesday also saw the fourth Canada-Baltics 3+1 meeting in Tallinn, with Canadian Foreign Minister Anand joining the foreign ministers of Estonia and Lithuania, and Latvia's foreign ministry parliamentary secretary, at a press conference.

Anand spoke in defense of the Baltic states while in Tallinn, rejecting Russia's claim that they allow drone attacks to be launched from their territory. "We have to call it out, and acknowledge that it is completely unacceptable, and there should no intervention in state affairs at this time."

Canada has officially opened its expanded embassy in Tallinn, a move intended to signal strong allied relations.

Speaking at the same press conference on Wednesday, Tsahkna noted a decline in Russia's economy at a time of massive front-line losses in its invasion of Ukraine. European sanctions, together with Ukraine's deep strikes on Russian infrastructure, are starting to bite too, he said.

"This is a desperate act from the Russian side, but this is exactly why the unity of the western part of the world to support Ukraine and to put more pressure on Russia is very important right now, and we're going to discuss as well the NATO deterrence and the plans for the future already tomorrow (Thursday – ed.), so this is exactly the time when Russia is trying to use an opportunity to divide us."

Had a good discussion today with my Canadian and Baltic colleagues on strengthening security cooperation and transatlantic ties. We focused on Russia's ongoing aggression against Ukraine and the need to increase coordinated pressure on Moscow, including stronger sanctions,… pic.twitter.com/LZbYbOqxMA

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) May 20, 2026

Latvia has also seen drone incursions, including one on Tuesday. Effectively dealing with such incidents was one of the criticisms Prime Minister Evika Silina faced ahead of her resignation earlier this month.

That country's Foreign Ministry parliamentary secretary Artjoms Uršulskis, speaking at Wednesday's press conference noted: "If we would be the real threat for Russia, they probably wouldn't be emptying their military districts near our borders, to send troops to kill Ukrainians."

Lithuania's foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys meanwhile said he does not believe the recent U.S. cancellation of a deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland has emboldened Russia especially, though added its increasingly aggressive behavior certainly demonstrates the ongoing importance of effective allied deterrence.

"We have all the arguments, us Lithuania, as do the Baltic countries, why allies have to be at the front line and what strategic military and even economic effect it has also to themselves; so it is in the U.S. interests to have troops in Europe; it is in U.S. interests to deploy troops at the very front line, because this is the effective way of conducting the military tasks," Budrys said.

On Wednesday, Lithuanian lawmakers were forced to shelter underground and air traffic at Vilnius airport was temporarily suspended after a drone violated the country's airspace.

The 3+1 Canada-Baltics meeting also issued a joint statement here.

The full joint press conference can be viewed below.

Russia has made the claim in recent days that all three Baltic states have opened up their airspaces to the Ukrainian armed forces and especially to drone overflights, adding they may face consequences as a result.

The spike in Ukrainian drones entering Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian airspace in recent weeks is mostly the result of interference caused by Russian electronic warfare systems, all three countries say.

Amid Ukrainian drone strikes in the vicinity of St. Petersburg and also in the Pskov region, just dozens of kilometers from the Estonian border, on Tuesday a drone was shot down in South Estonia by a Romanian Air Force F-16 deployed with NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, after entering Estonian airspace around lunchtime.

The F-16 had scrambled from the NATO base at Šiauliai, Lithuania, and Estonian officials believe it was likely of Ukrainian origin and had accidentally strayed off course; Ukraine's defense minister later apologized over the incident, which necessitated a civilian air threat alert for the south of the country.

Residents reported hearing loud explosions and seeing two fighter jets before the drone crashed into a wooded field area.

@andris.allik

Jõhker litt

♬ original sound - andris.allik

Estonian officials said heavy Russian electronic warfare, including GPS spoofing and jamming, likely affected the drone's trajectory; it is not clear yet whether the drone was armed.

Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur (Reform) said Estonia had advance warning from Latvia and radar confirmation of the drone.

The minister later said the decision had been made to down the drone after a threat and risk assessment had been carried out, noting that actions like that always carry an element of risk in that it can be unpredictable where a downed drone may hit the ground.

The area affected by Tuesday's incident is a sparsely populated rural part of Estonia; in recent weeks, several drone incursions have happened in Estonia, including one which hit and damaged a power station chimney, just a few kilometers from the border with Russia.

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