Air threat alert: No drones detected in Estonia's airspace, EDF says
No drones reached Estonian territory on Wednesday, the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) have said, after several EE-Alarms were issued in the early morning following Ukraine's attacks on Russia.
The first EE-Alarm alert was issued at around 4 a.m. in the eastern Ida- Viru and Lääne-Viru counties, with residents being told to seek shelter if they saw a drone.
A second message was sent at approximately 5 a.m. to include a "potential air threat" in Tartu, Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Võru and Põlva counties.
At 6 a.m. the EDF said the threat was over.
Several people living in Võru told ERR they heard a noise early in the morning that may have been related to a drone.
EDF: No drones on Estonian territory
However, later on Wednesday morning, the EDF told ERR that while a "potential threat" was identified, but no drones strayed into Estonian airspace.
"To inform residents, a warning notification was also sent out. During the verification of the threat, no air threat was detected, and a notification announcing the end of the air threat was therefore issued as well," said Liis Vaksmann from the press section of the Defense Forces General Staff.
To determine whether the drone or drones had reached Estonian territory, EDF units on the ground and Allied units participating in the Baltic Air Policing mission.
Fighter jets were also scrambled and were prepared to eliminate the threat if necessary.
Ukrainian drones
Alerts have been issued several times in recent months in connection with Ukraine's drone attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure on the Baltic coast at Ust-Luga and Primorsk, around 30 kilometers from the Estonian and Finnish borders.
Several drones have been knocked off course and ended up in Baltic and Finnish airspace.
Overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, Ukraine attacked the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal in Russia's Leningrad Oblast, following attacks from Moscow that killed 23 people.
A possible air threat alert was also issued in Latvia on Tuesday morning, public broadcaster LSM reported.
The alerts were sent out by "Ole Valmis!" (Be Prepared) and Eesti.ee apps. For more information about where to find information during a crisis, read ERR News' article here.
For information about how to act when an EE‑ALARM public warning alert is issued, see here.
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Editor: Helen Wright
