Russia warns Finland and Baltic states over Ukraine drone strikes via airspace

Russia has issued explicit threats of military action against Finland and the Baltic states, such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, if Ukrainian drone strikes Russia via their airspace. On April 16, former Defence Minister and Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu said that Russia reserves its "right to self-defence" under Article 51 of the UN Charter if such an attack continues using its airspace, TASS news agency reported. He presented a binary scenario: either Western air defences are failing, or these states are "deliberately allowing" airspace use, making them “actively complicit”.

"This could occur in two scenarios: either Western air defense systems are extremely ineffective… or the states in question are deliberately allowing their airspace to be used, meaning they are actively complicit in the aggression against Russia," said Shoigu, "In the latter case, under international law, Article 51 of the UN Charter regarding the inherent right of states to self-defense in the event of an armed attack comes into effect."

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Shoigu was referring to the Ukrainian strikes on Ust-Luga, a major Russian deep-water port in the Gulf of Finland, when drones crushed at Finland and other Baltic states. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha previously accused Russia of redirecting its own drones toward Baltic states and Finland to inflame tensions.

Previously, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that these countries have received an "appropriate warning" and will face a "response" if they do not heed it. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that the military is currently analysing strikes and will propose specific "countermeasures".

Earlier, the Baltic nations, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania categorically denied such claims that they have never allowed their airspace to be used for attacks on Russia and denied these claims as “baseless” Russian misinformation.