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Moscow has accused the Baltic states of assisting Ukraine in Kyiv’s campaign against Russian oil terminals, with Russia’s foreign ministry issuing veiled threats against Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and blaming them for allowing the use of their airspace by Ukrainian forces.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the Baltic states “have received an appropriate warning”.
“If the regimes of these countries have enough sense, they will listen. If not, they will have to deal with a response,” Zakharova said, without specifying what exactly the response will be.
Zakharova’s comments came as Ukraine’s military recently intensified strikes on Russian oil terminals on the Baltic Sea coast. Kyiv primarily targeted Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, which is situated on the Baltic Sea and neighbouring Estonia.
Moscow accuses Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania of opening their airspace for Ukrainian forces and drones and consequently helping Kyiv strike Russian ports in the Baltic Sea. All three Baltic states have repeatedly rejected these claims as disinformation.
The European Commission said Brussels was closely monitoring the situation and Russian threats for now.
“An attack on one of our member states is an attack on the European Union as a whole,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on Tuesday.
But for now “these are threats” which Brussels is keeping an eye on, with member states in question having “the first competence”.
“Now, what can we do as a European Union beyond that, should the threats materialise at some point,” Regnier asked.
“This is precisely the reason why in the defence area, we have been extremely active last year since the beginning of the mandate, with many projects, programs, roadmaps, and funding programs put on the table to support our member states precisely because we need to strengthen our collective resilience.”
Ukrainian drones stray into Baltic airspace
Two Ukrainian drones strayed into Latvia and Estonia amid a mass overnight attack on targets inside Russia on 25 March.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the incident “a concrete consequence of Russia’s full-scale war of aggression.”
The incursions occurred amid one of Ukraine’s largest mass deepstrike drone attacks on Russia, with two key targets on the Baltic Sea coast struck: a terminal in Ust-Luga and a military icebreaker in Vyborg.
Kyiv forces have now reportedly restarted their attacks on the Leningrad region overnight on Tuesday, with explosions seen near the Ust-Luga port.
Home to a large Russian oil terminal, this site has been hit at least five times between 22 and 31 March.
It is one of Russia’s largest ports on the Baltic Sea and a major hub for exporting crude oil and petroleum products.
