A local farmer discovered pieces of an attack drone on 25 August around 3 PM in a field in Koruste village, Elva parish, Tartu County, according to Kaitsepolitsei (Estonian Security Police) Director General Margo Palloson.
The incident site also revealed an explosion crater, though no injuries occurred.
“Subsequently, all necessary procedures were initiated,” Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said.
The Security Police launched an investigation in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office to clarify the circumstances. Emergency services responded to the incident.
Palloson said the Security Police believes the drone came down on Estonian territory on early morning of 24 August.
“We have reason to believe that this may be a Ukrainian drone that was targeted at Russian inland objects, but which Russia diverted from its course with its GPS jamming and other electronic warfare means, and it veered into Estonian airspace. Currently, nothing indicates that this could be a Russian drone,” Palloson explained.
The Security Police chief said this was a military drone carrying explosives that detonated. Had it fallen on a residential building, Palloson said, the drone could have caused extensive damage.
Palloson indicated the drone may have entered Estonian airspace from either Russian or Latvian airspace, which is currently under investigation.
Pevkur attributed the drone debris discovery primarily to Russia’s continued war in Ukraine and Ukraine’s self-defense efforts.
Defense Intelligence Service Chief Ants Kiviselg, commenting more broadly on the incident, said Russia’s GPS jamming is directed at protecting Russian strategic objects and is not aimed directly at Estonia or other NATO allies. Kiviselg emphasized that the threat level in Estonia has not changed.
Pevkur revealed Estonia has begun procuring new types of radars that detect low-flying objects. “Is it possible to create general coverage with this? Theoretically yes, depending on how much resource we deploy there. Our capability will become significantly better. Whether it will have 100% coverage, time will tell. At the same time, the Ukraine war shows that there is no 100% coverage anywhere,” Pevkur said.
Pevkur said he also communicated with Ukraine’s defense minister on 25 August.
On the morning of 24 August, the Police and Border Guard Board tracked a drone flying over Lake Peipus, which later crashed into the lake on Russian territory.
Saturday and early Sunday morning saw active drone movement in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast, when Ukraine attacked Russian-based objects with drones. The drones targeted both objects in St. Petersburg and the Ust-Luga port oil terminal near the Estonian border.