The Ministry of Defense of Latvia officially confirmed that on September 7, a Russian military drone crashed in the Rezekne region in the east of the country.
Points of attention
- The downing of a Russian military drone in Latvia was the first such incident since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.
- The Latvian military is conducting an investigation into the downing of the drone and is actively cooperating with NATO and other allies.
- The President of Latvia and the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for a collective response to similar incidents involving Russian drones.
What is known about the fall of the Russian drone in Latvia
According to the representatives of the defense department, the responsible services are currently doing everything possible to quickly find out the circumstances of the incident.
So far, they have come to the conclusion that a Russian military drone flew into the airspace of Latvia from the territory of Belarus.
The Latvian Defense Forces, in accordance with established procedures, informed high-ranking officials, law enforcement officers and the NATO command about the incident. The incident is currently under investigation.
It is important to understand that this is the first such case since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, when a Russian military drone of Russia violates the airspace of Latvia.
The head of the Ministry of Defense of the country Andryus Spruds has already reacted to the situation.
According to the latter, it is extremely important for the Latvian authorities to continue the work started on strengthening the eastern border, as well as to actively develop the capabilities of air defense and means of radio-electronic warfare.
How the president of Latvia reacted to the fall of the Russian drone
The country's leader, Edgars Rynkevichs, reminded of the need for a collective response to similar incidents involving Russian drones.
He also drew attention to the fact that "the number of such incidents on NATO's eastern flank is increasing."
Yesterday, a Russian military drone crashed in the east of Latvia. The investigation is ongoing. We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing on NATO's eastern flank, and we must solve them together, Edgars Rynkiewicz emphasized.
The head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Baiba Braje, also reacted to the event.
She announced the summons of the representative of the Russian embassy on Monday, September 9, recalling that the incident with the Russian drone also happened in Romania.
