Baltic nations briefly issue drone alerts as Russia, Ukraine exchange strikes

The Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia withdrew on Wednesday a flurry of alerts that had urged citizens to seek shelter against threats from unidentified drones entering from neighbours Russia or Belarus, officials and media said.

Nato air defence fighter jets had been activated, the alerts had said, though there were no reports of injuries, while Lithuania’s crisis officials said the warning covered the second most populous city of Kaunas, home to about 300,000.

Finland, another Russian neighbour, adopted temporary airspace and maritime curbs in the eastern Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, its defence forces said on X, but also withdrew them later.

“The restrictions were a precautionary measure to ensure the authorities’ ability to operate and the safety of bystanders,” they added.

The step came as Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s northwest, home to major Baltic Sea export facilities and a big oil refinery, setting afire the Ust-Luga port area and injuring three.

Drone debris killed two in Russia’s Smolensk region bordering Belarus, Russian newswires cited the local governor as saying.

In Ukraine, an overnight Russian air strike knocked out power in parts of the industrial stronghold of Kryvyi Rih, injured one in the second biggest city of Kharkiv and another six in Zaporizhzhia, officials and emergency services said.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports independently. Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians in the war Moscow started by invading its neighbour in February 2022.

The turmoil comes against the backdrop of a two-day meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi from Tuesday, as the United States makes a new push to end their war.

President Donald Trump has said the war was close to being settled and that ending it might involve all of Europe.

Ukrainian military drones straying into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have fuelled concern that the Ukraine war is spilling into Natp countries that border Russia and its ally Belarus.

As Ukraine attacks Russian oil shipping ports on the Baltic Sea, some of its drones have missed their targets, prompting security warnings in neighbouring countries and even a government collapse this year in Latvia.

Moscow has accused Kyiv of using Nato airspace as cover for attacks, while Kyiv says Russian signal jamming has sent some of its drones off course. The Nato nations blame Russia for the incidents, saying it ignited the war.

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