„Incidents unthinkable 3 years ago are now treated as routine. Nothing should be landing on Ukraine, or Latvia, or anywhere on NATO territory, but this is the new reality our inaction has allowed to emerge. Lithuania will of course be supporting a strong allied response,“ the minister wrote in a post on social network X.
„Lithuania condemns Russia’s violations of the NATO air space and stands with affected Allies. The new incident in Latvia shows we must strengthen the air defence of the Baltic States. The rotational air defence model must be implemented as agreed upon at the Vilnius Summit,“ President Nausėda stated in a message on X.
Meanwhile, Minister of National Defence Laurynas Kasčiūnas told ELTA that the incident would be discussed „in NATO formats“ if Latvia initiates discussions.
„We will support them on this matter to have a discussion on how to react to such situations in the future,“ said Kasčiūnas, stressing the need to enhance air defence capabilities.
President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs announced on Sunday that a Russian military drone had crashed in the country a day earlier.
Commander of the National Armed Forces of Latvia Lieutenant General Leonīds Kalniņš said that the drone violated the country’s airspace on early Saturday morning and was immediately noticed.
According to the Latvian Armed Forces, the Russian military drone had entered Latvian airspace from Belarus.