Stray drone strikes chimney of Auvere power station (Ida-Viru County, Estonia)

In the early hours of 25 March 2026, a drone that had crossed into Estonian airspace from the direction of Russia struck the chimney of the Auvere power station in Ida-Viru County, north-eastern Estonia, roughly 20 to 25 km from Narva and the Russian border. Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported that the Estonian Internal Security Service (ISS) said the drone hit the stack at about 3:43 a.m., a couple of minutes after entering Estonian airspace. No one was injured.

The plant's operator, Enefit Power, said there was no immediate damage to the facility and no significant effect on Estonia's electricity supply; the Auvere unit was in reserve at the time. ISS director general Margo Palloson said an initial inspection of the wreckage pointed to a drone of Ukrainian origin, with the investigation continuing. Estonian Defence Forces commander General Andrus Merilo said the device was not a reconnaissance drone but an explosive-laden attack or decoy drone, and described the strike as a spillover effect of Russia's war against Ukraine.

The episode was part of a wider overnight event in which several drones crossed Estonia's border and north-eastern Estonian airspace was temporarily closed. As Estonian World noted, the drones were linked to a Ukrainian attack on the Russian port of Ust-Luga in Leningrad Oblast, less than 50 km away. The same night a separate drone came down in Latvia's Krāslava region without casualties.

Estonian authorities assess the device as a stray Ukrainian attack or decoy drone, diverted off course (likely by Russian electronic warfare) during Ukraine's strikes on Ust-Luga, and explicitly not directed at Estonia. This is a preliminary assessment rather than a confirmed forensic conclusion, and the investigation continues. The strike fits the broader 2026 Baltic spillover pattern, in which munitions from the war drift into NATO airspace, as seen the same night in the Krāslava region of Latvia. Recorded as suspected spillover; this entry may be updated as further public information emerges.