This week has once again been incredibly busy on the drone incident front. In an unprecedented event, a Romanian fighter jet patrolling Estonian airspace shot down a stray Ukrainian drone.
Meanwhile, in Vilnius, trains were halted and residents were directed to shelters, all while Russia sharply stepped up its rhetorical assaults against Latvia.
First, Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, claimed that Ukraine was planning to launch drone attacks directly from Baltic territories, alleging that Ukrainian drone units had already deployed to specific Latvian military bases.
The SVR’s press statement ended with nothing short of a direct threat:
“It’s worth noting, however, that the coordinates of decision-making centers on Latvian territory are well known, and the country’s NATO membership will not protect terrorist accomplices from just retribution.”
Shortly after, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, repeated these exact same claims before the UN Security Council.
Needless to say, there is absolutely no proof behind Russia’s claims. The entirety of Latvia’s political leadership immediately stepped up to debunk the disinformation.
Meanwhile, top NATO and EU leaders, including Mark Rutte and Ursula von der Leyen, expressed support for Latvia and promised unity.
But threats like these — regardless of how unfounded they are — mark a rhetorical escalation against the Baltic states. This escalation is playing out against a backdrop of continuous air alerts warning of stray, EW-jammed drones crossing into Baltic airspace.
This is why I called up my colleagues Sanita Jemberga (Re:Baltica) and Miglė Krancevičiūtė (Siena.lt) to record an emergency podcast. In this 20-minute episode, the three of us analyze what is driving Russia’s latest threats, how seriously we should take them, and what impact this new propaganda offensive could actually have.
By the way, as we were recording this very afternoon, Latvia witnessed yet another air alert warning residents of a possible drone incursion.
Thank you for listening, and please send us your feedback!
Holger
