Urban, 46, received a drone warning in the middle of the night: “Bomb the bastards”
During the night, phones across Estonia began to ping.
The message was a warning about drones—shortly thereafter, an explosion occurred at a Russian oil terminal.
“My first thought is just: ‘Bomb the bastards,’” says Urban, who lives in Tartu.
Around 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, an alert was issued in Latvia, near the border with Belarus.
“If you see a low-flying or suspicious object, do not approach it; call 112,” the military stated.
The warning then expanded.
Lithuania and Estonia also issued drone warnings. In Estonia, residents in the affected areas received two mass text messages urging them to seek shelter.
Among those who received the text was Urban, a 46-year-old Swede living in Tartu.
“My phone pinged around 3:30 a.m. It said there were drones in the air,” he says.
Having lived in Estonia for 25 years, he notes that the country’s proximity to Russia has made its people somewhat desensitized to these types of warnings. Urban mentions that he has received similar text messages “five or six times” before.
“Many have grown accustomed to having ‘the bear’ so close by, so I’d say people take things like this quite calmly. You try not to get too worked up, because there isn’t much you can do about it,” he says.
Came from Ukraine: “Bomb the bastards”
Lithuanian authorities have stated that the drones likely originated from Ukraine. According to the regional governor, an oil terminal in the Russian town of Ust-Luga—near the border with Estonia—caught fire after being struck by drones.
Images purporting to show the terminal in flames are circulating on social media.
According to Urban, it makes a significant difference to the people of Estonia whether the drones come from Russia or Ukraine. There is strong support for Ukraine in Estonia.
“Around here, the general reaction—when it’s directed at Russia—is mostly, ‘Bomb the bastards.’ That’s just the kind of mentality, you know?” says Urban.
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