Baltic States Reportedly Seek Urgent €500M EU Aid for Drone Defense

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have reportedly asked the European Commission for an urgent injection of €500 million ($570 million) to boost their defense against the increased threat from Russian drones in a secret letter.The Baltic states – also key members of NATO’s eastern flank defense – have reported Russian drone incursions in recent weeks, though Moscow has downplayed the risks by accusing Europe of seeking reasons to justify additional military spending.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported on Tuesday, Sept. 22, citing what it called reliable foreign policy and security sources, that the defense ministers of the three Baltic states sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday, Sept. 21, seeking urgent provision of funds.The news outlet termed the communication as “secret” as there has been no public announcement of the request.Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius told the BBC on Tuesday that his country feels “constantly threatened” by Russia because of drones entering its airspace and was putting an evacuation plan in place ahead of a potential invasion.Also on Tuesday, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said his country was facing an “alarming” period in the run-up to October elections, fearing the likelihood of Russian interference that could include drone incursions, airspace violations, sabotage, and other hybrid threats. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine’s Battle-Tested Drones Could Soon Be Made in America Kyiv’s interceptors have already helped defend US bases from Iranian drones. A landmark deal could now bring Ukrainian technology to America. The head of the EU is expected to respond within weeks, potentially allowing the funds to be delivered before the year ends.Are Russian drones a real threat?European officials have warned of a potential, limited Russian invasion via the Baltics for months, with drones likely playing a key role in any potential escalation.The Brave New Europe think tank quoted several sources that identified the use of almost 150 suspected and confirmed Russian drones all over Europe over the past two years, with 24 incursions into the Baltics between January 2025 and May 2026.In the summer of 2025, NATO aircraft shot down two drones over Latvia and one over Lithuania.According to Censor.net, Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas warned in May that the Baltics and NATO’s other potential “frontline” states should prepare for increasing drone incursions.He underlined a need to strengthen forward anti-aircraft defense systems, including new investments in radars and other electronic means.Earlier this month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia continued to carry out hybrid attacks against the states that support Ukraine, and that Moscow could fire drones or missiles into NATO countries in “the next few months.”French President Emmanuel Macron supported Tusk’s view, calling his statement “sound and well-documented.”Meanwhile, Russia has attempted to downplay the risks by pinning the blame on Ukrainian drones.Several pro-Russian news outlets, such as Pravda, have highlighted incidents involving Ukrainian drones crashing in the Baltics as a by-product of Kyiv’s intensified long-range attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in the Leningrad Region.Latvian experts attributed one such incident in May to Russian GPS jamming and spoofing, which would lead drones to deviate from their designated paths.In May, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also responded to Russian claims that the only threat to the Baltic countries was from Ukrainian drones launched from Latvia, calling such assertions “totally ridiculous” while saying the alliance’s reaction to incidents with drones in the Baltic republics remained “quiet, decisive and proportionate.” Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.