Two drones coming from Russia violated the airspace of Latvia, which is a NATO member country, and crashed on its territory. the Latvian army said on Thursday morning. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the Reuters and DPA agencies.
- Two drones from the Russian direction violated Latvian airspace and crashed.
- One of the drones hit an oil storage facility in the town of Rezekne.
- A fire broke out in Rezekne after the drone hit, which was no longer burning upon arrival.
- Authorities warned residents near the border and closed all schools on Thursday.
- The origin of the drones remains unclear, but no one was injured in the incident.
One of the drones crashed into an oil storage facility in the city of Rezekne, located approximately 40 km from the Russian border, in the Latgale region in the east of the country, reported the public news portal LSM with reference to the local police. A fire also broke out at the site of the drone’s impact, but it was no longer burning by the time the firefighters arrived, he added.
Latvian authorities issued drone warnings to residents along the border with Russia at 3:09 a.m. CET asking them to stay in their homes. In Rezekne, all schools will remain closed during Thursday, the local government informed.
According to the DPA agency it remains unclear whether they were Russian or Ukrainian drones, as the incidents coincided with Ukrainian drone attacks on targets in Russia. However, according to available information, no one was injured.
At the end of March, Latvia and its Baltic NATO neighbors – Estonia and Lithuania – were hit by several stray Ukrainian drones, of which one crashed into a chimney at a local power plant, while the other crash-landed on a frozen lake and exploded, reminds Reuters.
It is assumed that Ukrainian drones were launched to attack military targets in Russia. The foreign ministers of the three Baltic countries said in April that they had never allowed their territories and airspace to be used for drone strikes against targets in Russia. Latvia borders Russia and Belarus in the east.
