On Saturday, 7 September, a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in Rēzekne municipality, Latvia.
Currently, the authorities, including the State Police, are investigating the circumstances of the incident, but preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation, and, according to the information available to the National Armed Forces, it flew into our airspace from Belarus.
The National Armed Forces act in accordance with established procedures, including informing the NATO chain of command. The incident has been brought to the attention of the relevant government officials, law enforcement authorities and NATO countries in the region. The National Armed Forces detected the UAV entering Latvian territory, monitored its movement and located the crash site. The investigation is ongoing.
“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia's eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications,” says Andris Sprūds, Defence Minister of Latvia.
In view of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Latvia is stepping up the protection of its land borders, airspace and territorial waters, and the National Armed Forces are reinforcing their air defence capabilities on the eastern border. In addition, NATO allies ensure air patrolling mission over the Baltic States on a rotational basis.
Latvian airspace is part of NATO airspace. At the NATO Summit in Washington, NATO member states agreed to strengthen air defence on NATO's eastern flank by introducing a more active rotational air defence model.
