Latvia Accuses Russia of Disinformation Campaign Targeting Baltic States

Russia has launched a coordinated disinformation campaign against the Baltic states, falsely claiming they are providing their territories for Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil, Latvia’s Defense Ministry announced Friday.

The ministry reported that Russian media outlets and Telegram channels have been circulating allegations that Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia opened their airspace to Ukrainian drones targeting Russian territory – accusations that Riga categorically denies.

“Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are not involved in planning or carrying out Ukraine’s attacks on Russia,” the ministry stated, emphasizing that while the three NATO members do support Kyiv through military aid, humanitarian assistance, and financial backing, they are not directly participating in offensive operations.

The timing of these allegations appears connected to incidents earlier this week when several Ukrainian drones strayed into Baltic airspace during one of Kyiv’s largest long-range drone attacks on Russia. Two drones entered Latvian and Estonian territory, while another fell on a frozen lake in Lithuania. Officials reported no casualties or significant damage from these incursions.

“Through such statements, Russia demonstrates its weakness and attempts to divert attention from the fact that it is unable to defend itself against successful Ukrainian counterattacks targeting Russian infrastructure along the Baltic Sea coast,” the Latvian Defense Ministry said.

Military experts note that both Ukraine and Russia extensively deploy electronic warfare systems, including jamming and navigation spoofing devices, to defend against aerial attacks. These countermeasures can cause drones to veer significantly off course. Similar incidents have occurred throughout the conflict, with Russian drones previously discovered in neighboring countries such as Moldova and Romania.

The Baltic states have particular reason for concern regarding Russian information operations. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – all former Soviet republics that joined NATO in 2004 – share borders with Russia or its close ally Belarus and have consistently been targets of Russian influence campaigns since regaining independence in the early 1990s.

According to the Latvian Defense Ministry, the current disinformation effort has several strategic objectives: to discredit NATO, undermine public trust in Baltic state institutions, and erode support for Ukraine. The campaign appears particularly targeted toward Russian-speaking populations in the Baltics and younger social media users through coordinated bot networks.

In January, Latvia’s security services warned that cyberattacks and sabotage operations linked to Russia remain a significant threat to national security. More concerning, officials noted that Moscow’s rhetoric regarding Latvia increasingly resembles how Russia characterized Ukraine in the lead-up to its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

While security analysts do not perceive an immediate military threat to the Baltic states, this shift in Russian messaging suggests a potentially more confrontational posture in the future. The three Baltic nations have been among the most vocal European supporters of Ukraine, with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania consistently contributing a higher percentage of their GDP to Ukraine’s defense than most other NATO allies.

The disinformation campaign comes amid heightened tensions across the Baltic region. NATO has strengthened its eastern flank since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with enhanced forward presence battlegroups now stationed in all three Baltic states and several other eastern member countries.

Security experts emphasize that Russian information operations typically intensify during periods when Moscow faces battlefield setbacks or seeks to distract from domestic challenges. The timing of this campaign coincides with Ukrainian forces demonstrating improved long-range strike capabilities against targets deep inside Russian territory.