NATO jets scramble after drone enters Latvian airspace near Russian border
NATO fighter jets were scrambled on Friday after a drone crossed into Latvian airspace near the country's border with Russia, according to Latvia's Defence Ministry. The aircraft was later shot down after entering the Baltic state's airspace, officials said. The incident took place in the Balvi municipality, and airspace threats were declared in five border municipalities.
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Latvia said the drone had been redirected into its airspace by Russian electromagnetic warfare. The Defence Ministry said NATO Baltic Air Policing mission fighters responded to the threat and successfully shot down the foreign unmanned aerial vehicle. Officials did not immediately say where the drone had originated, but the row said it was likely Ukrainian and had been involved in a mass strike on Russia's Leningrad region.
The incursion comes at a time of heightened concern over airspace security along NATO's eastern flank. The same row said Finland also imposed airspace restrictions, while Russian authorities confirmed a fire at the Ust-Luga oil terminal in the Gulf of Finland complex after a heavy Ukrainian strike. Ust-Luga is Russia's biggest Baltic port and a major oil-export hub, making it strategically important to Moscow's war economy.
For Latvia, the incident underlines the risks posed by the war in Ukraine to neighbouring states that are not directly involved in the fighting but remain exposed to spillover effects. NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission has long been tasked with protecting the airspace of the alliance's Baltic members, reflecting the region's proximity to Russia and the sensitivity of any unauthorised aerial movement. The use of the term electromagnetic warfare by Latvian officials also points to the growing role of jamming and other electronic measures in modern conflict.
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The row also placed the event in a wider pattern of recent disruptions affecting infrastructure and military-linked sites across Europe and Russia. It referred to an explosion at an ammunition plant in Italy that supplies the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as a separate oil terminal explosion in Rotterdam and a fire at a shipbuilding plant in Blagoveshchensk. Those incidents were not linked in the row, but they add to the broader backdrop of security concerns surrounding the war and its knock-on effects.
It remains unclear exactly how the drone entered Latvian airspace, whether it was intentionally diverted, and what its intended target may have been. Officials have not said whether the aircraft carried explosives or caused damage on the ground. Further details are likely to depend on military and border investigations, as NATO and Latvian authorities assess the implications for air defence along the alliance's frontier.
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