According to the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, the defense ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting €500 million for drone defense. Sources cited by the publication claim that Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn justified the request by citing an “increased threat from Russia”.
Sources speaking to Iltalehti say that the Baltic states expect a response from the head of the European Commission within a few weeks and hope it will be positive. In Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn, they also hope to receive the funds by the end of this year.
Baltic authorities believe that Russia may use a drone strike on NATO’s eastern flank to test the alliance’s readiness to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Until now, the countries in the region have repeatedly faced violations of their airspace by drones, and such incidents have become more frequent over the past two years.
According to Novaya-Evropa’s calculations, at least 24 such incidents occurred from January 2025 to May 2026. Last summer, NATO aviation shot down two drones over Latvia and one over Lithuania.
After that, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas called on the Baltic states to prepare for regular drone incursions. He stressed the importance of strengthening air defense and announced new investments in radar systems and air defense.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte previously described the alliance’s response to such incidents as “calm, decisive, and proportionate”. In mid-September, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Russia may soon be preparing “hybrid attacks” using missiles and drones against states supporting Ukraine.
Russian authorities had previously repeatedly threatened the Baltic states, accusing them of helping Ukraine launch drones. Vladimir Putin said that Russia would carry out retaliatory strikes against European countries that allow Ukrainian drones to be launched from their territory against Russian targets.
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