Another drone has crashed in Latvia amid soaring tensions over similar incidents in the Baltic region, with fears rising that the war in Ukraine might spill over to the neighbouring NATO countries.
The unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into Lake Drīdzis in the municipality of Kraslava, some 20 kilometres from the Belarusian border, and exploded on impact with the water’s surface, Latvian police said on Saturday.
No one was injured in the incident, which was reported to the authorities by local residents. No details were initially provided regarding the origin or type of the drone.
Police said drone debris was found at the crash site, with emergency personnel deployed to the scene to investigate the incident.
Acting Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, who recently resigned over a drone incident, wrote on X that she was in contact with the relevant authorities and is awaiting further information. She urged the public to follow the authorities’ instructions.
The drone’s entry into Latvian airspace was not detected by radar systems, according to the military. As a result, no mobile phone alerts warning of a potential threat to airspace were sent to residents of the region, the armed forces said, according to Latvian media reports.
Latvia borders Russia and Belarus in the east. The country has seen a rise in drone incidents linked to the Ukraine war in recent months, alongside fellow Baltic EU members Lithuania and Estonia.
During recent Ukrainian attacks, stray unmanned aerial vehicles repeatedly entered Latvian airspace, with some crashing in the country.
Earlier this month, empty tanks at an oil depot in the eastern town of Rēzekne, some 50 kilometres from the Russian border, were hit by two stray Ukrainian drones.
No one was injured, but the incident sparked a political crisis in which first the defence minister and then the prime minister resigned.
Moscow has accused Latvia of making its airspace available to Ukraine, a claim that the Baltic state denies.
