Drone shot down in Latvian airspace; threat to border regions declared over
Latvia's National Armed Forces said allied fighters shot down an unmanned aircraft that entered the country's airspace. Emergency alerts sent to residents in the eastern border districts have been lifted.
In the early hours of Friday, an airspace threat was declared in Latvia's border municipalities, and shortly afterwards the National Armed Forces (NBS) announced that allied fighter jets had successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle that was entering the country's airspace.
Shortly before 4 a.m., cell broadcast warnings were sent to residents of Balvi, Rēzekne, Preiļi and Augšdaugava municipalities. After 4 a.m., a similar alert was also issued in Alūksne municipality. The message urged people to take shelter indoors and follow the two-wall principle.
NATO Baltic Air Policing fighters were activated in response to the incident. At 4.42 a.m., the NBS stated on its X account that the threat had ended.
The military also advised residents who spotted a low-flying, suspicious or dangerous object not to approach it and to call the emergency number 112 immediately.
Similar cell broadcast alerts have been sent to people in Latgale before. They were linked to drones, most likely involved in the Russia-Ukraine war, approaching or entering Latvian airspace. The NBS said further information would follow on its social media channels under the name “Latvijas armija”.
