NATO allies Estonia and Latvia confirmed Russian drone incursions Wednesday morning. Estonia’s Internal Security Service reported a drone struck a power station chimney; Latvia confirmed a drone crashed on its territory with no damage.
The incidents followed one of Russia’s largest daytime drone assaults on Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale invasion. Ukraine’s Air Force reported nearly 1,000 drones launched since Monday - over 550 alone on Tuesday - targeting western regions near Poland, Slovakia, and Romania.
In Lviv, an Iranian-made Shahed drone hit a building beside a church in the historic center - just 40 miles from the Polish border. A second drone struck a residential building, wounding 22. In Ivano-Frankivsk, a maternity hospital was damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the cross-border strikes an escalation threatening all of Europe. He cited recent U.S. oil sanctions relief under the Trump administration as emboldening Moscow. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha labeled Russia a 'terrorist state' for targeting civilian infrastructure across Europe.