Debris of Unidentified Drone Found in Latvia's Aluksne District; Investigation Under Way

Latvia's National Armed Forces announced that on 24 October debris from a crashed unmanned aerial vehicle was found in the Aluksne district in the east of the country. According to the military, the drone most likely entered Latvian airspace on 18 October. The find is significant because it follows a similar case in neighbouring Lithuania on the same day, where the debris of a suspected drone was also discovered.

Search and investigation

After a report of a noise resembling an explosion, the armed forces and the State Police began looking for the possible crash site. The search was called off after two days, because the information initially received was not sufficient to confirm what had actually happened.

The circumstances of the incident are now being investigated. An internal service review has also been launched to assess how the incident unfolded and the related circumstances. The source does not say who owned the drone.

Authorities state that no civilians were harmed, civilian infrastructure was not damaged, and no further threat has been identified.

What happened in Lithuania

On 18 October, debris of a suspected drone that had violated Lithuanian airspace was found in the village of Juodzionys in the Pasvalys district of Lithuania. Lithuania says the drone entered its airspace from Polish territory. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius stated that the drone that flew into the country on Sunday was carrying explosives.

Georgiy Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Lithuanian incident was probably a consequence of Russian electronic warfare measures. He added that Ukraine expresses regret over the incident.