Latvian forces reported that at least one unmanned aircraft entered the country’s airspace on Thursday, prompting NATO jets to be scrambled to assess and counter the possible threat. Authorities issued a public alert advising residents to shelter indoors and close windows and doors; the warning was lifted several hours later.
The incident is the latest in a string of drone overflights and incursions across the Baltic region. It came less than a month after a stray drone crashed into an oil storage facility in eastern Latvia — an episode that triggered a political crisis in Riga. Prime Minister Evika Silina dismissed her defense minister over the handling of those events, and a junior coalition partner withdrew its support, leaving the government without a majority and leading to Silina’s resignation.
Latvian military officials said additional units have been deployed along the eastern border with Russia as a precaution. They warned that, while Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues, similar episodes in which foreign unmanned aerial vehicles enter or approach Latvian airspace remain possible.
Earlier in the week, NATO fighter jets shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonian airspace. On Wednesday, Lithuania issued air alerts that disrupted flights and other activity in Vilnius; the president, prime minister and other senior officials were taken to shelters as a precaution. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said the episode offered an important lesson for authorities and citizens and urged the public to treat alerts seriously without panicking.
Why are drones appearing over NATO countries in the Baltics? Kyiv has expanded long‑range strikes against Russian territory, including attacks on facilities near the Baltic Sea such as the Primorsk and Ust‑Luga oil terminals. Some of those long‑range uncrewed aircraft have strayed into the airspace of nearby countries, including Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.
Both Ukraine and Baltic governments have suggested that Russian forces may be interfering with drones’ navigation systems and then accusing Kyiv of deliberately targeting NATO territory — a claim Moscow denies. In response to the recent spate of incidents, visiting Polish defense officials urged Ukraine to ensure extreme precision in drone operations “to avoid giving rise to Russian provocations,” and Estonia’s defense minister also asked Kyiv to keep unmanned systems as far from NATO airspace as possible.
The string of overflights has put NATO on high alert across the region, testing air defenses and prompting fresh calls for careful coordination to prevent accidents or unintended escalation between Russia, Ukraine and NATO allies.