Estonia finds Ukrainian drone with 5 kg of explosives near border

A resident mowing grass in the village of Rõuge, southeastern Estonia, discovered a downed drone carrying about five kilograms of explosives on June 10. Police said the drone had fallen around June 3, coinciding with a Ukrainian strike on Russian targets, and its debris was also found on a nearby tree.

Estonian air‑defence radars had tracked multiple aerial objects that day, prompting NATO‑linked fighter jets to be scrambled. The incident is part of a pattern of Ukrainian drones unintentionally entering the airspace of EU and NATO members bordering Russia, which Moscow has repeatedly accused the Baltic states of facilitating. Estonia’s security police dismissed any public danger and said the find was reported after a military exercise in the area.

Russia has blamed Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania for allowing Ukrainian drones to use their airspace for attacks on Russian territory, a claim the Baltic governments have denied, labeling it disinformation.