Foreign drones crashed in Latvia

On Thursday morning, Latvian airspace was violated by several drones, two of which crashed. At around 3:30 a.m. local time, reports emerged of a possible fire at an oil storage facility in Rēzekne. The city is located 40 kilometers from the Russian border. As it was later determined, the reports were caused by the impact of one of the drones. Four empty oil tanks were damaged. Ultimately, no fire broke out, but measures were taken to cool one of the tanks.

The drones are believed to have come from Russian territory. According to the LETA news agency, residents of eastern Latvia have repeatedly been warned in recent months about possible threats in the airspace, most likely related to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.

Latvian Minister of Defence Andris Spruds stated that the drones were likely launched by Ukraine against targets inside Russia. The military reported that the threat had passed. In response to the incident, fighter jets from NATO’s multinational Baltic Air Policing mission were scrambled.

This is yet another case of a Baltic state’s airspace being violated by foreign drones. So far, they have been identified as Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles intended to strike targets within the territory of the Russian Federation. Ukrainian forces have been effectively hitting Russian oil ports, refineries, and storage facilities. For now, allied governments continue to support Ukrainian strikes despite such incidents.