Latvia’s armed forces assess that one of two drones that entered the country’s airspace in recent days was Russian, and the other most likely Ukrainian. The first turned back to Russia, while the second crashed in Latvia.
Two alerts in three days
The Latvian military warned of a threat in the airspace near the borders with Russia and Belarus on Sunday, 1 November, and again on Monday, 2 November. Residents of these areas were asked to take shelter. During the second alert, NATO fighter jets were reportedly activated as part of the air policing mission.
What the military established
According to the armed forces’ assessment, released on Tuesday, 3 November, the drone from Sunday was most likely a Russian Geran unmanned aerial vehicle. A military spokesperson noted that it was not immediately clear whether the aircraft was armed. The drone ultimately returned over Russian territory.
The drone from Monday was assessed as probably Ukrainian. According to the military, it crashed on Latvian soil, but has not yet been found. Preliminary assessments indicate it had deviated from its intended route. In the Tilža area, residents heard a loud explosion; it was initially linked to the self-destruction of one of the Latvian interceptor drones. During the first incident, Latvian forces used their own interceptor drone for the first time.
The military said on X that the lessons from both incidents are being analysed to strengthen air defence.
Regional context
Military drones, mostly Ukrainian, have already strayed into the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. During Ukrainian attacks on Russian Baltic ports, some aircraft miss their targets and trigger alerts in neighbouring countries. Kyiv explains that some drones are pushed off course by Russian signal jamming, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of using NATO states’ airspace as cover. Earlier, on 25 March, the Latvian military confirmed that a drone that crashed in Krāslava County was Ukrainian.
We wrote about an earlier violation of an ally’s airspace in our article on drones over Poland in September 2025.
