Two NATO countries have recorded violations of their airspace by suspected Russian drones, sparking outrage in Eastern Europe.
The Latvian Defense Ministry said Sunday it was investigating an incident in which a suspected Russian drone crashed in the eastern city of Rēzekne.
“However, preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation, and according to the information available to the National Armed Forces, it flew from Belarus into our airspace,” the National Armed Forces said in a statement. A UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle, better known as a drone.
Ukraine has reported a number of Russian drones entering Belarusian airspace in recent months, while Belarus has repeatedly complained about violations of its airspace.
“This situation confirms that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern border, including the development of air defense capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities,” said Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds.
Latvia is among NATO countries that have increased their defense spending since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Also on Sunday, the Romanian Defense Ministry reported that a Russian drone briefly flew over Romanian territory before re-entering Ukrainian airspace.
Bucharest sent text messages to alert residents of the border towns of Constanta and Tulcea as Romanian F-16 fighter jets took off to observe the drone’s flight.
The army also launched a search for possible debris near the border town of Periprava.
“NATO condemns last night’s Russian airspace violation in Romanian airspace. While we have no information indicating a deliberate attack by Russia on allies, these actions are irresponsible and potentially dangerous,” said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană, who is himself Romanian.