The Latvian army believes that one of two drones that violated the country's airspace in recent days was Russian, while the other was Ukrainian. The incidents occurred on Sunday and Monday near the borders with Russia and Belarus, Reuters reported.
The armed forces issued successive air-raid warnings and urged residents in the affected areas to seek shelter in bomb shelters. In the second case, NATO fighter jets from the Baltic Air Policing mission were scrambled.
One drone was a Geran-type aircraft
According to the Latvian army, Sunday's drone was a Russian Geran-type aircraft. A military spokesperson said it was still unclear whether it had been armed. According to the army, the unmanned aerial vehicle likely crossed back over the border into Russia.
Monday's drone was described as “most likely Ukrainian”. The army believes it crashed on Latvian territory, but it has not been found so far. This leaves both its exact coordinates and the circumstances under which it entered the country's airspace undetermined.
The drones are linked to attacks on Russian ports
The incidents occurred against the backdrop of Ukrainian attacks on the Russian ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, which are used to export oil. Some Ukrainian drones miss their targets, while Kyiv claims that Russian electronic warfare systems divert them from their course.
Similar cases have already been recorded in the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. They are heightening concerns that the war in Ukraine could directly affect NATO countries bordering Russia and Belarus.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of using NATO airspace as cover when preparing attacks on Russian territory. Ukraine, for its part, claims that some of the drones are diverted by Russian electronic jamming. NATO countries link similar incidents to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
In Latvia, the issue of how to respond when foreign drones enter the country's airspace has already triggered a political crisis. The government of Evika Silina fell on 14 May 2026 following an internal coalition dispute related to the response to similar incidents.
Sources: bta.bg, internazionale.it