Controlled blasts planned near Balvi on Friday evening to neutralise downed drone
On Friday evening, Latvia's National Armed Forces will carry out controlled demolition work in Rugāji parish, Balvi municipality, to safely neutralise a drone shot down over Latvian territory. Residents are not required to take extra precautions.
Residents of Rugāji parish in Balvi municipality and the surrounding area may hear explosion sounds on Friday evening. According to Latvia's National Armed Forces (NAF), cited by the LETA news agency, the noise will come from planned, controlled demolition work aimed at safely neutralising an unmanned aerial vehicle that was shot down over Latvian territory.
The Armed Forces stressed that residents do not need to take any additional safety measures. The work will be carried out by NAF's unexploded ordnance disposal specialists, following all required safety procedures and requirements.
Early-morning incident
The operation follows an incident earlier on Friday morning, when residents of several Latgale municipalities — Augšdaugava, Preiļi, Rēzekne, Balvi and Alūksne — were warned of a threat in the airspace. Fighter jets from NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone that had entered Latvian airspace near Lake Boževa, about five kilometres from the centre of Rugāji in Balvi municipality.
Sandra Kapteine, head of the Rugāji association administration, told LETA that the drone came down in a wooded area and that no residents or property were harmed. Based on currently available information, the drone entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare activity.
NAF soldiers, National Guard members and State Police officers took part in inspecting the site. Iveta Bērziņa, a spokesperson for the NAF Joint Staff, had earlier noted that because the drone was shot down at high altitude, its debris could be scattered over a wide area — explaining the need for the follow-up demolition work.
