Riga: Fighter jets from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a “foreign drone” that entered Latvian airspace on Friday, a report said.
The Latvian armed forces said the drone entered Latvia’s airspace due to “Russian electromagnetic warfare” and that it was detected over the Baltic nation’s Balvi, Euro News reported.
They said that additional air defence units have been deployed at the country’s eastern borders and will continue to keep watch on its airspace.
“As long as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues, a recurrence of cases where foreign drones enter or approach Latvian airspace is possible,” the armed forces said.
Airspace threats were identified in Preiļi, Rezekne, Balvi, Augsdaugava, and Aluksne areas, but these have since ended, Euro News reported.
The latest drone interception in Latvia comes after several such incidents have been reported in NATO airspace.
Last month, Romanian Air Force pilots shot down a third drone that entered Romanian airspace without authorisation.
According to the Ministry of National Defence of Romania, the drone was safely shot down 12 km northeast of Sulina, within Romania’s territorial waters.
Romanian President Nicusor Dan congratulated the pilots for their work and called Russia’s actions “inadmissible and intolerable” for violating Romania’s airspace.
According to the investigation conducted by the General Prosecutor’s Office, the drone shot down was of the Shahed type, used by Russia against Ukraine. Investigations into the drones shot down later are ongoing.
“Romania’s diplomatic protest against the Russian Federation will be based on these investigations,” Dan noted.
“It is inadmissible and intolerable for the Russian Federation to continue violating Romania’s airspace, which is, at the same time, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) airspace and European Union airspace. Such actions are unacceptable, and we treat them with the utmost seriousness, alongside our allies,” he stressed.
On July 25, a drone violating Romanian airspace was shot down about 10 km west of Sfantu Gheorghe in central Romania.
(IANS)
