One drone found in Latvia after six-day search delay
Latvian forces located the wreckage of an unmanned vehicle that entered airspace on October 18, one day after a similar crash was discovered in Lithuania.
By Kenji Yamamoto ·
Latvia's National Armed Forces confirmed the discovery of drone wreckage on Saturday, October 24.
The military stated that debris from an unmanned aerial vehicle was found in the Alūksne district. Officials believe the aircraft crossed into Latvian airspace on October 18. This timeline places the incident one day after a similar event in a neighboring state.
Initial reports of a noise resembling an explosion triggered a joint search by the National Armed Forces and the State Police. That effort was suspended after two days due to a lack of sufficient data to determine the cause. The wreckage remained unidentified for the following six days.
The Latvian military reported that no civilians were injured and no civilian infrastructure sustained damage. Authorities have not identified further threats. An investigation is currently underway to examine the circumstances of the event. A separate internal review is assessing how the incident unfolded.
The discovery follows a drone crash in Lithuania on Sunday, October 18. Wreckage was located in the village of Juodžionys, in the Pasvalys district. Lithuanian officials stated that the drone entered their airspace from Poland.
Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius stated that the Lithuanian drone contained explosives. Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Lithuanian incident was likely caused by Russian electronic warfare measures. Ukraine expressed regret over the event.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
