Two foreign drones entered Latvian airspace from Russia and crashed in the eastern part of the country, the Latvian army reported Thursday morning. Latvia’s Minister of Defense Andris Sprūds stated that the UAVs were probably Ukrainian drones launched against targets in Russia that veered off course.
Units of the National Armed Forces, State Police, and State Fire and Rescue Service examined the crash sites where remains of the drones were found. Initial reports indicated one drone may have crashed into an oil storage facility in Rezekne, about 40 kilometers from the Russian border. Police received a call around 3:30 a.m. local time about smoke at the site and are investigating the incident.
In a related event on the night of March 25, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs confirmed a Ukrainian drone entered airspace from Russia, crashed, and exploded in Kraslava municipality. The drone, part of a Ukrainian operation targeting Russia, flew below one kilometer altitude, evading main radar coverage. It was detected at 02:19 a.m., disappeared from radar 20 minutes later, and exploded near Dobrovychyna village at 02:35 a.m. Military and law enforcement secured debris at the site.
Similar drone incidents were reported in Estonia, where a drone crashed at a power plant, causing minor damage. Authorities described these as unintentional crashes with no major damage or injuries in Latvia.