Estonia hopes that Ukrainian drones will avoid its airspace
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna discussed the course of Russia’s war against Ukraine and opportunities to strengthen cooperation in the areas of aviation security and countering drones during a meeting on Monday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha. The parties also raised the issue of risks to the airspace of countries in the region and coordination of efforts in the field of drone defense.
Tsakhnia reported this on social media.
The talks took place on the sidelines of the meeting of EU foreign ministers.
"I emphasized that Estonia expects Ukrainian drones to be operated in such a way as to avoid entering Estonian airspace," Tsahkna noted.
He added that Ukraine has demonstrated unique experience and technologies in countering drones, which are also extremely valuable for Estonia and the region.
"We take Ukraine’s proposal to deepen cooperation in the field of aviation security seriously, and our relevant institutions are continuing discussions on this issue," the minister emphasized.
During a phone call with his Latvian counterpart Baiba Braze, Sibiga stated that the incidents involving drones that crashed on Latvian territory were caused by Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems.
Estoniawill launch a drone defense system and expand the military’s authority.
Earlier, Estonia ordered additional HIMARS systems from the U.S. and may receive them as early as 2027—sooner than planned. At the same time, the country is developing its own defense infrastructure in collaboration with the American company Lockheed Martin. As a result, Tallinn is building a more flexible and long-range missile arsenal.
The Estonian Ministry of Defense wants to simplify the procedures for procuring and using drones in the military. To this end, it has prepared amendments to aviation regulations designed to make the process faster and more flexible. The government explains this by noting that drones are rapidly changing modern warfare, and the rules must keep pace.
