Russian expert blames Baltic states for enabling Ukrainian drone strike on St. Petersburg, warns of Finnish airspace retaliation

Dmitri Kuzjakin, a Russian drone expert interviewed by one outlet, accused the Baltic states of opening their skies to Ukrainian drones that were used in a large-scale strike on St. Petersburg. The raid, one of the biggest since the war began, resulted in at least one fatality and fifteen injuries, with targets including oil terminals, a logistics company's depot and a data centre, and generated massive smoke columns in the city.

Kuzjakin did not rule out that the drones were launched from Baltic territory and said Russia could answer by intercepting drones in the airspace of the Baltic nations and Finland, as well as destroying their preparation and launch sites. He argued that the closeness of St. Petersburg to Finland and Estonia gives Ukraine an opportunity to exploit neighboring countries in future attacks. Because Russia cannot build a multi-layered air defence along its border, he stressed the need to neutralise drones before they enter Russian airspace.