Latvia Finds Debris of Foreign Drone in Aluksne District

Latvia's National Armed Forces reported on Saturday, 24 October, that they had found the wreckage of a fallen drone in the Aluksne district in the east of the country. The report was relayed by the outlet European Pravda.

According to the military, the unmanned aircraft most likely entered Latvian airspace on 18 October. After residents reported a noise resembling an explosion, the armed forces and the State Police began searching for a possible crash site. The search lasted two days and was then called off, because the initial information was not enough to confirm what had actually happened.

Investigation and internal review

Latvian authorities are now investigating the circumstances of the incident. The armed forces have also opened an internal review to assess how the case was handled and the events around it. The military said that no civilians were harmed, civilian infrastructure was not damaged and no further threat has been identified.

Similar incident in Lithuania on 18 October

The same day, 18 October, debris of a suspected drone that had violated the country's airspace was found in the village of Juodzionys in Lithuania's Pasvalys district. Vilnius says the drone entered Lithuanian airspace from Polish territory. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius said the drone that flew into the country on Sunday carried explosives.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said the Lithuanian incident was probably the result of Russian electronic warfare, and that Ukraine expressed regret over it.

More on the region is in our world news section.