Latvia’s military announced it shot down a drone that entered its airspace on Monday. This is part of a series of incidents involving drones in Eastern European NATO countries related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Latvian military stated on social media that NATO fighter jets “successfully shot down a drone that entered Latvia’s airspace.” It remains unclear which country the drone originated from, though Ukrainian and Russian drones have frequently breached regional borders. The Baltic states have previously blamed Russia’s assault on Ukraine for some incursions.
In Moldova, another incident occurred when a drone crashed and exploded in a field. This happened as “a massive Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine took place.” Moldova’s foreign ministry stated that regardless of the drone’s origin, responsibility for any drone landing on its territory lies with Russia.
These incidents follow two Russian drones exploding over Romania earlier this month, one hitting an apartment building near the border with Ukraine and injuring two people. The repeated incursions into neighboring countries have heightened fears of a potential expansion of Russia’s war in NATO territory.