NATO drones have attempted to cross the border of the Pskov Region of Russia repeatedly starting prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and continuing to the present day, the governor of the Pskov Region, Mikhail Vedernikov, claimed on Saturday, according to TASS.
"We have never provided extensive coverage to that but there were attempts of military unmanned aerial vehicles and other aircraft to illegally cross the border," said Vedernikov.
"All such ‘peaceful interaction’ was ‘flourishing’ even before the start of the special military operation," added the governor. "Clearly all that has aggravated further at present."
The Pskov region is located along Russia's border with Estonia, Latvia and Belarus. Estonia and Latvia are both NATO members.
Claim comes less than a week after Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea
The claim by the Russian governor comes just days after Russia claimed that Ukrainian forces had targeted Sevastopol on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with two drone attacks.
In late October, two Russian Ka-52 attack helicopters were destroyed in an explosion at the Ostrov airbase in the Pskov Region, according to the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The explosion was allegedly caused by saboteurs placing the explosives near the helicopters.
The Ostrov airbase is located over 30 kilometers within Russia's borders.
Russia has used drones, including Iranian suicide drones, extensively in its invasion of Ukraine.