Yesterday, the Latvian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the Russian Armed Forces unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that crashed in the municipality of Rēzekne is a Shahed loitering munition, which had entered Latvian airspace from Belarus. According to the official statement, the drone had been diverted by the Ukrainian response, although consultations with NATO ally countries that have experienced similar incidents are ongoing to prevent such events in the future.
Regarding this, Andris Sprūds, who serves as Latvia’s Minister of Defense, stated: “The arrival of a Russian Shahed drone in Latvia is a serious incident that clearly shows that the war in Ukraine is on the horizon. It is a reality we must face, and we must always be prepared. When Shahed drones attack Ukraine, they usually fly over Belarusian territory. We are currently in close contact with our allies about this incident because similar cases have already occurred in their territories. We need to strengthen NATO’s air defense and promote the presence of allies in Latvia through the active implementation of NATO’s rotational air defense model.”
It is noteworthy that the Latvian Armed Forces claim to have closely monitored the trajectory of the Russian drone, being able to estimate where it would crash and act according to the relevant disarmament procedures; subsequently notifying NATO command about the incident. Although no injuries or significant material damage have been reported, the Latvian government has decided to reinforce its borders with the deployment of new personnel and air defense systems.
This issue is far from trivial for countries with borders close to the conflict, as illustrated by Romania’s situation. Prior to the incident in Latvia, the Romanian Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of two of its F-16 fighter jets to track Russian drones that had entered its airspace, in the context of recent nighttime attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure.
On that occasion, the Romanian Ministry of Defense reported: “According to existing data, there was a possibility of an impact zone within national territory, in an uninhabited area near the town of Periprava… There have been no serious problems on the ground, (Note: although such events) will continue to occur as we have a war on the border.”
Additionally, it should be noted that just two days before the Russian Shahed drone crashed in Latvia (September 7), Belarus managed to shoot down Russian drones within its airspace, the first time in over two years of war. To achieve this, the country deployed MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters near the town of Homel, where the UAVs were intercepted without major issues. At the end of August, Ukrainian local media reported another similar operation carried out by the Belarusian Air Force, although details regarding the outcome were not disclosed.
*Images used for illustrative purposes
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