Latvia Recovers Drone Debris In Alūksne District After Search Break
The military said the unmanned aircraft likely crossed into Latvian airspace on 18 October, six days before the wreckage was located.
By Jason Fischer ·
Latvia's National Armed Forces located the remains of a downed drone on Saturday, October 24, ending a search that had been suspended for six days. The debris was found in the Alūksne district.
The armed forces said the unmanned aerial vehicle most likely entered Latvian airspace on October 18. Investigators first opened a search after someone reported a noise resembling an explosion. The National Armed Forces and State Police spent two days looking for a crash site, then called off the effort because the information available at the time was not enough to establish what had happened.
The military reported no civilian injuries and no damage to civilian infrastructure. Officials said they have identified no further threats. An investigation into the circumstances of the event is underway, along with an internal review of how the incident unfolded and the factors surrounding it.
The recovery in Latvia followed a similar episode next door. On October 18, wreckage from a suspected drone that violated airspace turned up in the village of Juodžionys, in Lithuania's Pasvalys district. Lithuania says that aircraft entered its airspace from Poland.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said the drone that flew into Lithuania contained explosives. Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Lithunian incident was likely the result of Russian electronic warfare measures, and added that Ukraine expressed regret over what happened.
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
