Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland issued drone alerts and imposed temporary security restrictions overnight on Wednesday as Russia and Ukraine traded strikes, fuelling fears that the conflict could spill over into neighbouring NATO countries.
The Baltic states urged residents to seek shelter after unidentified drones were spotted near their airspace, reportedly approaching from Russia and Belarus. The alerts were lifted hours later, with no injuries reported.
NATO fighter jets were scrambled as the warnings spread across the region. One alert covered Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city, home to around 300,000 people.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius described it as a “difficult night”, saying four drones had been detected across the region.
Authorities attempted to shoot down a drone over northern Lithuania, while debris from a NATO missile was later found on the ground. It remained unclear whether the drone had been hit.
Finland imposed temporary restrictions on airspace and maritime activity in the eastern Gulf of Finland. Its defence forces said the precautionary measures were designed to protect the public and allow authorities to carry out their operations. The restrictions were later lifted.
The alerts came as Ukrainian drones targeted northwestern Russia, home to major Baltic Sea export facilities and an oil refinery.
The strikes triggered a fire in the Ust-Luga port area, injuring three people. In Russia's Smolensk region, near the Belarusian border, falling drone debris killed two people, according to Russian news agencies citing the regional governor.
Russian air strikes, meanwhile, hit several regions across Ukraine.
Parts of Kryvyi Rih, a major industrial city, lost power, while officials reported one person wounded in Kharkiv and six others injured in Zaporizhzhia.
Reuters said it could not independently verify the reported incidents. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians.
Peace talks continue in Abu Dhabi
The latest escalation comes as Russian and Ukrainian officials hold two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi, which began on Tuesday, as the U.S. renews diplomatic efforts to end the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested a peace settlement is within reach, adding that ending the conflict could involve the wider European region.
Ukraine's ongoing drone strikes against Russian oil export facilities on the Baltic Sea have intensified security concerns among neighbouring NATO members, particularly following reports that some drones have strayed off course.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of using NATO airspace to launch attacks against Russian territory. Ukraine, however, says Russian electronic jamming has forced some of its drones off course.
NATO member states have held Russia responsible for the wider security crisis, citing its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
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Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
Russia and Ukraine are set to return to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for a fourth round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, with European participation, security guarantees and territorial disputes expected to shape the negotiations.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Russia has denied any involvement with a senior U.S. soldier who was arrested in Britain on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence. His arrest came a day after the United States moved aircraft out of a British air base over an apparent threat from Iran.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has arrested two people accused of working for Polish intelligence and gathering information on military facilities in the western Kaliningrad region.
The European Union (EU) has launched a new push to improve secure digital links between Europe and Central Asia, with the first High-Level Connectivity Platform Meeting on Digital in Chișinău, Moldova.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of military operations, including the ongoing war with Iran, delaying a potential confrontation until Democrats take control of Congress in January.
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