Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya warned on Tuesday (19 May) that Moscow could retaliate against Baltic states if Ukraine launches military drones from that region. Latvia, the United States and Ukraine responded strongly during a UN Security Council meeting.

Nebenzya claimed Moscow had intelligence suggesting Ukraine planned to launch drones from Latvia and other Baltic countries, warning that NATO membership would not shield them from retaliation.

“The coordinates of decision-making centers in Latvia are well known, and membership in NATO will not protect you from retaliation,” Nebenzya said during the meeting.

Latvia immediately rejected the accusations with the country's envoy to the Security Council, Sanita Pavluta-Deslandes describing the claims as “pure fiction.” Latvia’s Foreign Ministry summoned the acting head of Russia’s diplomatic mission to issue what it called a “categorical protest.”

The ministry said Latvia had repeatedly informed Moscow through diplomatic and public channels that it had not permitted its territory or airspace to be used for attacks against Russia.

“Despite repeated communications by the Latvian side … the Russian side continues to spread lies and make escalatory statements,” the ministry said.

Latvia, along with Estonia and Lithuania, has been among Ukraine’s strongest political and military supporters since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

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U.S. and Ukraine respond

Tammy Bruce, Deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, criticised Russia’s comments during the Security Council meeting, saying the UN was “no place for threats against a council member.”

Bruce reaffirmed Washington’s commitments under NATO’s Article 5 collective defence principle, which states that an attack on one alliance member is considered an attack on all members.

Ukraine’s envoy to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, dismissed Russia’s allegations as “fairy tales.”

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Drone incidents heighten tensions

The diplomatic clash followed a series of recent drone-related incidents in the Baltic region.

Ukraine accused Russia of redirecting one of its drones into Estonian airspace. Ukrainian officials said the drone was later shot down by NATO.

Latvia issued air threat alerts on Tuesday over concerns a drone may have entered its airspace near the Russian border, prompting NATO Baltic Air Police fighter jets to scramble. Authorities later said no evidence of an airspace violation had been found.

A second alert was later issued covering two counties bordering Russia, leading to another NATO deployment.

Since the start of the war, several NATO countries bordering Russia and Belarus (including Poland, Romania and Baltic states) have reported incidents involving drones or missile debris entering or approaching their airspace.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry later apologised to Estonia over the latest incident and insisted Kyiv was not using Latvian or Estonian territory to launch attacks against Russia.

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Russia-NATO relations

Russia has repeatedly accused NATO countries of enabling Ukrainian attacks through military aid, intelligence sharing and training, while Western governments insist they are not direct participants in the conflict.

The Baltic region has become increasingly sensitive for NATO security planning following Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance, which expanded NATO’s border with Russia.

Officials on both sides have repeatedly warned about the risk that border or airspace incidents could further escalate tensions between Russia and NATO.

Read more:

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• Estonia says stray Ukrainian drones entered its territory between Monday and Tuesday

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