Incident with Drones Raises Concerns About Defense Sector Policy
“The incident involving drones this week clearly showed that the political leadership of the defense sector has not kept its promise to ensure a safe sky above our country,” wrote Evika Silina. “It is a huge responsibility that requires clear results,” she added, noting that the country is one of the largest contributors to NATO in relative terms, allocating over 5% of its GDP to defense. Colonel Raivis Melnis is set to take over as Minister of Defense, according to the Latvian Prime Minister.
Incident Details
Two drones crossed into Russian territory on Thursday before crashing in Latvia. One of them hit a fuel storage site in Rezekne, in the east of the country. An ensuing fire was quickly contained by the national police. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiga, stated that the drones entered Latvia due to the “Russian electronic warfare.” It is believed that these Ukrainian drones were diverted by Russia.
Several Russian or Ukrainian drones have crashed in Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, former Soviet republics bordering Russia and/or Belarus, since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
