In Estonia, a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone for the first time – Minister

Estonia stated that a fighter jet shot down a drone that entered the country over Lake Võrtsjärv, ERR reports, according to UNN.

On Tuesday around noon, a fighter jet from the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone that had flown into Estonia over Lake Võrtsjärv,

According to Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, there is currently no information regarding damage to civilians.

Pevkur told ERR that information was received from the National Armed Forces of Latvia, and Estonia's own radars also detected the drone's movement toward Southern Estonia.

"We took the necessary measures, and a fighter jet from the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission shot down this drone," Pevkur said.

Pevkur also told Delfi: "This is the first time we have shot down a drone ourselves."

"We are currently establishing all the exact details, but it is known that the drone was shot down over Lake Võrtsjärv. As far as is known, the crash site of the debris is also being determined, which may be on land rather than in the lake itself," Pevkur added.

The elder of Põltsamaa Parish, Taavi Aas, told ERR that the downed drone fell in a field in the village of Kablaküla, located south of the town of Põltsamaa. According to the elder, no one was injured.

A local resident of Kablaküla told ERR that he saw two fighter jets in the sky, followed by a loud explosion. "There was a powerful bang, and I saw the drone falling from the sky. And when it was already near the ground, a second explosion occurred," he described.

According to the eyewitness, the explosions were so loud they were likely heard in Põltsamaa itself. The drone fell in the woods near the edge of a field, reportedly about 30 meters from the nearest residential building. Currently, sappers, rescuers, and representatives of other internal security agencies are working at the scene, the local resident added.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Defense Forces sent out an air threat alert in Southern Estonia; however, the message was also received by those in Tallinn. According to the notification, the drone threat was active in the areas of Tartu, Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Võru, and Põlva. Around 12:45, the Defense Forces sent a message stating that the air threat had passed.

The last time the Defense Forces sent out an air threat alert was on May 3 — at that time, it affected Võrumaa and Ida-Virumaa.

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As the publication writes, on Tuesday morning, the northwestern region of Russia came under repeated drone attacks, as evidenced by the closure of airports in Pskov and St. Petersburg's Pulkovo.

Rosaviatsia reported around 11:00 local time that temporary restrictions on the arrival and departure of aircraft were introduced at Pulkovo Airport for the second time. The agency explained that the measures were necessary for flight safety, according to Russian media. The restrictions were first introduced around 9:45. They were lifted at approximately 10:10, but the airport was closed again shortly thereafter.

Shortly before this, the governor of Russia's Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, announced a UAV attack threat in the region. At 11:48, Drozdenko reported on social media that Russian air defense forces had shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles over the region.