NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte sharply criticized the statements of the Russian Federation regarding the alleged launch of Ukrainian drones from the territory of Latvia, calling such claims unfounded and absurd. He expressed this position during a conversation with journalists in Brussels, responding to questions about recent events in the Baltic region.
This is reported by Kyiv24
NATO’s Position on Drone Incidents
Rutte noted that official representatives of Latvia and Ukraine have already refuted the Russian claims and emphasized that the alliance does not possess information about the intentional redirection of drones from Ukraine to the territory of allies. According to the NATO Secretary General, the reason for the drones reaching the Baltic region lies solely in the large-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, and not in the actions of Kyiv or the Baltic countries.
“These Russian statements are absolutely absurd, laughable, and Russia knows this itself,” Rutte stated.
He added that drones are reaching the Baltic countries “not because Ukraine wanted to direct them there,” but due to “the reckless, illegal full-scale invasion of Russia that began in 2022 – following what Russia did in Crimea in 2014 against Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s Reaction and Security Measures
Rutte also commented on the recent incident involving the downing of a Ukrainian drone by an F-16 fighter in Estonia on May 19. He emphasized that the involvement of NATO’s air defense systems depends on the specific situation, and the experience of the war in Ukraine and the use of drones must be integrated into the alliance’s approaches to the security of the eastern flank.
The Ukrainian side, for its part, apologized to Estonia for the drone incident, which was caused by interference from Russian electronic warfare means. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tikhiy stated that Russia is deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones towards the Baltic region, combining this with information campaigns.
He emphasized that none of the Baltic or northern countries – Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland – have ever allowed their airspace to be used for attacks on Russia, and Ukraine has not made such requests.
Ukrainian diplomacy also thanked partners in the region for their support and solidarity, emphasizing its readiness to cooperate to prevent similar incidents in the future.