Emergency, Russian Military Drone Crashes in NATO Country

RIGA – The Government of Latvia, one of the countries NATO, announced a military drone Russia has fallen in its territory.

This incident is dangerous because it could be seen as an attack on Moscow and on the alliance.

Latvia is a Baltic country that was once ruled by the Soviet Union, but is now a member of the European Union and NATO.

The country has had strained relations with Russia since independence, and relations have worsened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

“A Russian military drone crashed in eastern Latvia yesterday (Saturday). An investigation is underway,” Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said on X, as quoted by AFPMonday (9/9/2024).

“We are in close contact with our allies. The number of such incidents is increasing along NATO’s eastern flank and we have to address them collectively,” he said.

Latvia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the military drone flew into the country’s airspace from Belarus and crashed in the city of Rezekne.

“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern borders, including the development of air defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activity of UAVs with various applications,” Defense Minister Andris Spruds said.

Another NATO member, Romania, also said Sunday that the Russian drone that struck civilian infrastructure in neighboring Ukraine overnight had entered its airspace.