Russian military drone crashes in Eastern Latvia
A Russian military drone has crashed in eastern Latvia, reported Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs' statement on social media platform X.
"Russian military drone has crashed in the Eastern part of Latvia yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation. We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing along the Eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively.," said President Rinkēvičs.
He emphasized that the number of such incidents on NATO's eastern flank is increasing, underscoring the need for joint efforts with allied nations to address the issue.
Latvia’s Defense Forces informed high-ranking officials, law enforcement, and NATO command about the incident. An investigation is currently ongoing.
This is the first instance since the inception of the full-scale invasion where a Russian military drone has violated Latvia’s airspace.
Defense Minister Andrius Spruds underlined the need for Latvia to continue strengthening its eastern border, particularly by developing air defense and electronic warfare capabilities.
Foreign Minister Baiba Braže announced that a Russian embassy representative would be summoned on Monday, September 9, noting a similar incident had occurred in Romania as well.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Center for Countering Disinformation pointed out that Russian Shahed drones are increasingly entering Belarus's airspace, heading toward NATO borders.
During Russian an attack on Ukraine on the night of September 8, one of the Shahed strike drones entered Romanian territory. Bucharest has already confirmed the incident.
To track the UAV, the Romanian Air Force deployed two F-16 jets. The radar surveillance system identified and tracked the drone’s trajectory as it entered Romania and then returned to Ukraine.
NATO has condemned the violation of Romanian airspace by the Russian drone.