Russia Warns Finland, Baltics on Ukrainian Drone Airspace Use

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu warned Finland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Thursday that Moscow reserves the right to self-defense if they deliberately permit Ukrainian drones to traverse their airspace for strikes on Russian territory. The statement highlights escalating tensions along NATO's eastern flank amid Ukraine's intensified drone campaign against Russia.

Shoigu told journalists that recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia have increasingly routed through the airspace of these four nations, leading to civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure. He outlined two possibilities: either Western air defense systems are failing to intercept the drones, or the countries are intentionally allowing passage, making them complicit in what Russia describes as aggression. In the latter scenario, he invoked Article 51 of the UN Charter, which affirms a state's inherent right to self-defense following an armed attack.

The warnings follow a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian Baltic Sea ports, including Ust-Luga and Primorsk, late last month. Those assaults ignited fires at petrochemical facilities, causing an estimated $730...