Latvia will deploy interceptor drones along its border to secure its airspace and avoid future drone incursions, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds said. said Friday.
The minister also directed the military to review their border airspace defense plan.
The announcement came after sseveral drones coming from Russia entered Latvia’s airspace early Thursday, with two of them crashing in the country.
A drone crashed at an oil storage site in Rēzekne, 240 km east of Riga, causing a fire in empty oil tanks. It is unclear where the second drone fell.
Sprūds is under political pressure after Latvia faced repeated airspace incursions in recent months.
Acu of the armystic system failed to detect the first incoming drone and local residents in Rēzekne were not notified until an hour after the incident, leading opposition parties to ask Spruds to resign.
Opposition lawmakers have already tabled one motion of no confidence against the minister in April, citing repeated airspace incursions. The motion ultimately failed to receive the necessary majority support, securing 43 votes from the 100-seat legislature.
“The situation with solutions to drone incidents is unsatisfactory,” Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said. social media on Friday, adding that she has invited the defense minister for a discussion to explain why the country’s defense failed to stop the incursions.
Authorities are still investigating the origin of the drones, but Sprūds said they likely to be Ukrainian and traveling to Russian targets.
“Russia is responsible for the incident”, said the Ministry of Defense in a press release, saying that Russia’s use of electronic warfare could alter the flight trajectory of Ukrainian drones.
Foreign Minister of the country also called the Russian ambassador in Riga after the drone crash.
Latvia, along with Estonia and Lithuania, has been a prime target of drone incursions from neighboring Russia, leading the group to appeal to NATO allies to boost air defense capabilities after similar incursions in March.
NATO last year strengthened air and missile defense through its “Eastern guard” MISSIONwhich NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said serves as a platform for testing anti-drone systems to “detect, track and neutralize” threats.
(in)
