Drone crashes in Estonia, police suggest it was Ukrainian but no blame on Kyiv

This was reported by the Estonian outlet ERR.

On Monday, August 25, around 3 p.m., a local farmer in Elva municipality, Tartu County, Estonia, found debris from a strike drone. According to Security Police (KAPO) director general Margo Palloson, there was also a crater at the site caused by an explosion. No one was injured in the incident.

The Security Police, together with the prosecutor’s office, launched an investigation. KAPO assessed that the drone had fallen on Estonian territory early Sunday morning.

“According to preliminary data, we have reason to believe this may have been a Ukrainian drone targeting facilities in Russia, but which Russia diverted from course using GPS jamming and other electronic warfare tools, causing it to drift into Estonian airspace. At this stage, there is no indication it could have been a Russian drone,” police said.

Palloson clarified that it was a military drone fitted with explosives, which detonated. He noted that if it had fallen on a residential building, it could have caused serious destruction.

According to the KAPO director, the drone could have entered Estonian airspace either from Russia or from Latvia — this is still under investigation.

At a press conference, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that “all necessary procedures have been launched.” He stressed that the drone debris was directly connected to Russia continuing its war in Ukraine and Ukraine defending itself.

The KAPO head added that the drone ended up in Estonia as a result of Russian GPS signal jamming.

Ants Kivisild, head of the Defense Forces Intelligence Center, commented that Russia’s GPS jamming is aimed at protecting its strategic facilities and not directed specifically at Estonia or NATO allies.

The defense minister also noted that Estonia has begun purchasing a new type of radar capable of detecting low-flying objects.

“Can we create full coverage with them? Theoretically – yes, it depends on how much we invest. Our capabilities will improve significantly. Whether it will be 100% coverage – time will tell. At the same time, the war in Ukraine shows that there is no such thing as total coverage anywhere,” Pevkur added.

He also said that on Monday evening he had spoken with Ukraine’s defense minister.

• On Sunday morning, the Police and Border Guard Department tracked a drone flying over Lake Peipus, which later crashed on Russian territory into the same lake.
• On Saturday night into Sunday, there was intense drone activity in Russia’s Leningrad region, as Ukraine launched UAV attacks on targets inside Russia. Drones struck facilities in St. Petersburg as well as an oil terminal at the port of Ust-Luga, located near Estonia’s border.