Either Russia’s air defense doesn’t work, or NATO is launching drones, says Russia’s Shoigu

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has stated that Russia “will defend itself” in response to Ukrainian drone attacks. According to Moscow’s version, these drones may be based on the territory of Finland and the Baltic states, TASS reports.

He presented two possible interpretations of the drones’ origin: either Russia’s air defense is ineffective, or neighboring countries’ airspace is allegedly being used for the attacks.

Which of these variants is most likely? He did not tell. However, such statements could be regarded as a threat. 

Reference to Article 51 of UN Charter

The Secretary of the Russian Security Council emphasized that if the second scenario is true, then Article 51 of the UN Charter applies, which enshrines the inherent right of states to individual or collective self-defense in the event of an armed attack.

“According to international law, Article 51 of the UN Charter on the inherent right of self-defense in case of armed attack comes into force,” Shoigu said.

In 2025, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Head Sergey Naryshkin accused NATO of escalating military activity near Russia’s borders. He warned that Poland and the Baltic states would be the first to suffer in the event of a war between Moscow and the Alliance. 

He claimed that Poland and the Baltic countries are displaying particular aggressiveness. As an example, he cited Warsaw’s alleged plan to deploy around two million anti-tank mines along its borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast.