Russian drone falls on Latvian territory

Currently, the responsible services, including the State Police, continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident, but according to initial data, it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation and, according to information available to the National Armed Forces (NBS), it flew into our airspace from Belarus.

The NBS is acting in accordance with established procedures, including informing NATO Command.

The incident has been reported to the responsible government officials, law enforcement authorities, and NATO countries in the region. The NBS detected the drone on the territory of Latvia, monitored its movement, and identified the crash site. The investigation is ongoing.

Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš, Commander of the NBS, told LETA that the drone entered Latvian airspace early on Saturday morning and was immediately spotted. Initial information suggested that the object had no "aggressive targets" in Latvia. The investigation is still ongoing, but the initial information from the experts is that the drone "did not have a specific purpose to fly into Latvia".

The NBS does not provide further details on the location and circumstances of the fall.

"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 defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities that allow us to limit the activities of drones," said Defense Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressives).

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 defense capabilities on the eastern border. NATO allies are also rotating air patrol missions over the Baltic States.

According to Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže (New Unity), a representative of the Russian Embassy was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, September 9: "We informed our allies, NATO and EU leadership about this incident. Russia's war in Ukraine calls for vigilance. Today, a similar incident occurred in Romania. We are vigilant, decisive, cool-headed, weighing the next steps with our allies."

Latvian airspace is part of NATO airspace.