Russian military drone crashes in Latvia, targeted at Ukraine
The military drone that violated Latvian airspace and crashed in the country is a Russian Shahed, confirmed by the commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, General Leonids Kalnins. "The drone did not have a specific purpose to fly into Latvia," he said.
Latvian army units neutralised the payload carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle after it was found following the collision with the ground. The Russians commonly use shahed drones in their conflict with Ukraine. The armed forces stated during a Monday press conference that an investigation is underway to determine why this drone deviated from its course.
The drone fell in eastern Latvia in an open area near Rezekne. According to preliminary information, it entered from the direction of Belarus.
According to Defence Minister Andris Spruds, whether the drone was targeted at Ukraine or not is "secondary," and the most important issue is that Latvian airspace was violated by an unmanned vehicle used by an aggressor.
The drone was not shot down
Military officials also noted that the drone was not shot down because, at the border, one does not shoot indiscriminately and must be certain whether the suspicious object is not, for example, a civilian object like a glider or a small aeroplane. They emphasised that the drone's flight trajectory was monitored the entire time. They also recalled that in the past, Belarusian drones have entered Latvian airspace.
As long as the war in Ukraine continues, there are no guarantees that such incidents involving drones will not occur again, General Kalnins admitted.
Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze confirmed that following the incident, a representative of the Russian embassy was summoned for an afternoon discussion on Monday.
