No one was injured in the incident, and the power infrastructure was not damaged. At 3.45 p.m. the EE-ALARM threats notification system sent a message stating the drone threat in northeastern Estonia had passed.

The government said later that several drones had crossed Esonia's border on Wednesday morning during a Ukrainian attack on the Russian Port of Ust-Luga.

A drone also entered Latvian airspace last night, Latvian authorities say.

"On the night of March 25 at 3:43 a.m., a drone hit the chimney of the Auvere power plant. No one was injured in the accident," a spokesperson for the Internal Security Service (ISS/KAPO) said.

The Prosecutor's Office said the drone was not intentionally directed towards the Auvere power plant or towards Estonia generally.

"According to current information, the drone was not directed at Estonia. Initial actions are currently being taken, the investigation will clarify the more specific circumstances," said State Prosecutor General Astrid Asi via a press release.

The ISS is investigating the incident, directed by the Prosecutor's Office. Rescue Board (Päästamet) deminers are currently also on site.

Government convening emergency meeting

Justice Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta (Eesti 200) told ERR on Wednesday morning that the government is to convene for an emergency session this morning, concerning a security incident.

Generator Enefit Power says there is no immediate damage to the power plant, while the incident will not have a significant impact on the Estonian electricity system.

Ukraine attacked the port of Ust-Luga with drones overnight March 24-25. Ukrainian drone attacks were reported in the Leningrad oblast, where Ust-Luga lies.

"These are the effects of Russia's full-scale war of aggression. We can assume that we will see more such incidents," said Margo Palloson, the ISS director general.

The ISS is appealing to any members of the public who may have witnessed the incident to come forward and to contact them on their official email address, kapo@kapo.ee.

The security agency stresses that unauthorized members of the public must not visit the scene and must keep their distance from anything resembling drone debris. Wreckage could be potentially hazardous due to the risk of explosion.

Any debris or other drone-related sightings should be reported to the emergency line on 112.

A crashed drone was also reported in Latvia, in the village of Dobročina in southeastern Latvia, noted ISS spokesperson Marta Tuul.

The incidents happened at a time when the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga was under Ukrainian drone strike. Russia's oil facilities at the Port of Primorsk, on the opposite side of the Gulf of Finland, have been burning for over two days now.

Primorsk and Ust-Luga serve Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, and their closure seriously impacts Russia's ability to fund its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

This is not the first Ukrainian drone to cross into Estonian airspace. Last August, a Ukrainian attack drone crashed in a field in southern Estonia, having flown off course during an attack on Ust-Luga.

Threat notification messaging conducted in haphazard manner

The EE-ALARM threat notification system also sent an SMS to people's mobile phones on Wednesday morning stating: "Defense Forces: Due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, there is an associated drone threat in the area. If you see one, take cover and call 112. Additional information KRIIS.EE and 1247."

It was not clear from the alert which region was under drone threat. The message also reportedly caused confusion about what exactly people were supposed to be seeing before taking cover.

Both the emergency number (112) and the national information number on 1247 were inundated with calls, the Emergency Response Center announced at 9.24 a.m.

At 9:35, EE-ALARM sent a new notification: "Updated information! The danger areas are Ida-Virumaa and Lääne-Virumaa. If you see a drone, take shelter and call 112." The notification was also sent in English.

A resident of the eastern border town of Narva shared a screenshot of the first notification they received at 8:42 a.m. via the "Ole valmis!" app, which was worded in an even more alarming manner, and urged immediate shelter.

"Air threat! Take cover!" the notification stated in Estonian. The text preceding it was in Russian.

At 3:45 p.m., EE-ALARM sent a notification that the air threat imposed in Ida and Lääne-Viru counties had passed.

The Estonian Information System Authority (RIA) later said technical issues were being addressed.

The state agency acknowledged that a nationwide warning alert was issued, rather than for the affected regions.

"To clarify the situation, a follow-up notification was then sent specifying the correct risk areas. Some users were mistakenly shown the first alert in Russian. The subsequent follow-up notification was delivered in both English and Russian. When Estonian was selected, the notifications were sent in Estonian," RIA noted.

Latvia: Western attention has shifted to Iran

Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported that the Latvian air force on Wednesday morning identified a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle entering Latvian airspace from Russia. Early warning systems detected a sound resembling an explosion in the Krāslava region, LSM said.

Egils Leščinskis, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Latvian National Armed Forces, said that it had been a restless night for air defense units. The object that entered Latvia detonated at around 2.30 a.m., he said, having been detected by Latvian radar a little over 10 minutes earlier.

"The aircraft most likely veered off course or was affected by electromagnetic warfare measures while protecting some technically important objects," Leščinskis noted when asked whether the flight trajectory was intentional.

Prime Minister Evika Silina said Ukraine had experienced one of the largest Russian attacks on Tuesday, at a time when the attention of the West has been diverted by events in the Middle East.

The drone that crashed in Latvia may be Ukrainian, Silina said, referencing a similar incident in Lithuania on Monday.

She also called the Auvere incident "similar", and noted that at a time when attacks on Ukraine are frequent, their consequences in the Baltic states' border regions must be borne in mind.

Lithuania: Talks ongoing with Ukraine about Varena drone incident

Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported a Ukrainian attack drone crashed and exploded in a sparsely populated region in the south of the country, near the Belarusian border on Monday night.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said on Wednesday that talks have started with Ukraine on the issue.

A local resident of Varena district, Dzukija region, took video footage of an explosion. The blast had been preceded by the sound of an engine which got louder and was of a type usually associated with drones. LRT reported some sources had likened the UAV to the Shahed-type drone often used by Russian armed forces, but Lithuanian authorities would not confirm this as it is subject to an investigation. On Tuesday, however, the Lithuanian authorities confirmed it was a stray Ukrainian drone en route to strike Primorsk, and had flown over Belarus prior to the incident.

Lithuania had deployed air defense assets near Vilnius after two Gerbera-type drones used by Russia crashed in the country in July last year.

Editor's note: This article was updated to include information about the threat notifications sent Wednesday morning, and comment from Latvia's prime minister and its deputy chief of staff, and from Lithuania's public broadcaster.

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