BRUSSELS, April 17. /TASS/. The European Commission says "there is no evidence" of Ukrainian drones being launched from the airspace of any EU member state, Finland and the Baltics included, to subsequently strike Russia, EC Spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said at a briefing in Brussels, responding to remarks by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu about Moscow’s potential use of its right to self-defense.

The EC has seen statements "where precisely these member states are clearly rejecting this groundless assertion." "There is no evidence to support these claims from what we have seen," the spokeswoman said.

She also stated that Shoigu’s remarks amounted to "misinformation" aimed at creating conditions for escalation and regional instability.

On April 16, Shoigu reminded Finland and the Baltic states of Russia’s right to self-defense in response to drone attacks. He said there had been a recent increase in incidents involving Ukrainian drones allegedly launching strikes on Russia via Finland and the Baltic states.

According to him, "this can happen in two cases: either Western air defense systems are extremely ineffective, as was already the case during the events in the Middle East, or these states are deliberately providing their airspace, thus becoming active accomplices in the aggression against Russia." "In the second case, under international law, Article 51 of the UN Charter regarding the inherent right of states to self-defense in the event of an armed attack comes into force," the Russian Security Council secretary stressed.