The heads of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania made a joint statement on the situation on NATO's eastern flank, condemning the Kremlin's smear campaign against the Baltic states.
"We – the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Alar Karis, Edgars Rinkēvičs, and Gitanas Nausėda – discussed the recent violations of the airspace of the Baltic states, as a result of which unmanned aerial vehicles arriving from the Russian Federation and Belarus crossed our national borders, thereby also violating the eastern flank of NATO and the external border of the European Union," the heads of the Baltic states noted.
"We strongly condemn such violations and categorically reject the ongoing disinformation campaign of the Russian Federation against our countries. As responsible NATO allies, the Baltic states have never allowed their territory or airspace to be used for drone attacks on targets within Russia," the joint statement reads.
"We also reject and fully condemn Russia's threats against Latvia, voiced at the UN Security Council meeting on May 19. By spreading unfounded accusations, the Russian Federation is trying to distract the international community from its illegal aggressive war against Ukraine and from Ukraine's right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter. The Baltic states continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine," the presidents of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania believe.
They reaffirmed their trust in NATO, collective defense, and transatlantic unity, and emphasized the need to maintain a strong and reliable position of deterrence and defense, including through sustainable investments in defense and fair burden-sharing.
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>On May 21, 🇱🇻President @edgarsrinkevics, 🇪🇪President @AlarKaris, and 🇱🇹President @GitanasNauseda discussed the threat posed by drones in Baltic airspace and the strengthening of NATO's defense capabilities during a phone call.
— State President's Chancellery (@Rigas_pils) May 21, 2026
More information:https://t.co/iQ4D8DNag9 pic.twitter.com/qn571LwceW
The presidents emphasize that strengthening defense capabilities on NATO's eastern flank remains a priority, especially in terms of reliable and powerful air defense. "Therefore, we consider it important to transition from air patrolling to air defense and to enhance the current presence of allies in our countries with means to combat drones," the heads of state noted.
"We again urge the Russian Federation to cease its aggressive war against Ukraine and agree to an immediate, complete, and unconditional ceasefire. This would be the first step towards a just and lasting peace in accordance with the UN Charter and its principles," the statement concludes.
